I 


OF  THE 

Theological  Seminary, 

PRINCETON,   N.  J. 

'    BX  8495    .W5  W37  1831 

Watson,  Richard,  1781-183 
The  life  of  the  Rev.  John 
Wesley 


'4 

4 


THE  LIFE 


REV.  JOHN  WESLEY,  A.  M. 


I'IME  FELLOW  OF  LINCOLN  COLLEGE,  OXFORD, 


FOONDER  OP  THE  METHODIST  SOCIETIEa 


BY  RICHARD  WATSON. 


'Ev  Kivoii  ■neptaaoHfus. 


NEW-YORK  : 

8TBRE0TTPED  BY.  J  AMES  CONNEB. 
PRINTED  AND  PUBLISHED  BY  S.  HOYT  &  CO.  FRANKLIN  BUILDINGS 
Bold  by  Colliin  4  Hannay,  Collins  ftCo., While,  Gallaher  &  White,  J.  Leivitl,  G. 
CtrviU,  E.  Blits.  H.  C.  Sleight,  John  C.  Totten  ■,—Pkiladtlvhm,  '    "  ' 
W.  *  ).  NmI,  J.  J.  Harrort ;— Bo.lon,  Richardson,  Lord  &  Holti 
S.  Beckrrith ;— JVno-ffactn.A.  H.  Mallby  \— Albany,  O.  Steele      ' " 


C/tt^rt,  Hastings  &  Tracy,  W.  Willis 
Nash  «  Co.  ■,—Hklimond,  R.  I.  Smim  ;— unorit 

1831. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


Various  Lives  or  Memoirs  of  the  Founder  of  Me- 
thodism have  already  been  laid  before  the  public.  But 
it  has  been  frequently  remarked  that  such  of  these  as 
contain  the  most  approved  accounts  of  Mr.  Wesley, 
have  been  carried  out  to  a  length  which  obstructs 
their  circulation,  by  the  intermixture  of  details  com- 
paratively uninteresting  beyond  the  immediate  circle 
of  Wesleyan  Methodism.  The  present  Life,  therefore, 
Avithout  any  design  to  supersede  larger  publications, 
has  been  prepared  with  more  special  reference  to  ge- 
neral readers.  But,  as  it  is  contracted  Avithin  moderate 
limits  chiefly  by  the  exclusion  of  extraneous  matter,  it 
will,  it  is  hoped,  be  found  sufficiently  comprehensive 
to  give  the  reader  an  adequate  view  of  the  life,  labours 
and  opinions  of  the  eminent  individual  who  is  its  sub- 
ject ;  and  to  afford  the  means  of  correcting  the  most 
material  errors  and  misrepresentations  which  have 
had  currency  respecting  him.  On  several  points  the 
Author  has  had  the  advantage  of  consulting  unpub- 
lished papers,  not  known  to  preceding  biographers, 
and  which  have  enabled  him  to  place  some  particulars 
in  a  more  satisfactory  light. 
London,  May  10, 183L 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Mr.  Wesley^s  Parentage — Mrs.  Susanna  Wesley — 
Samuel  Wesley,  jun. — Mr.  Wesley  at  School  and  Col- 
lege— Religious  Impressions  and  Inquiries — Ordina- 
tion— College  Honours — Charles  Wesley's  early  Life 
— Methodists  at  O.rford — Origin  of  the  name  Meth- 
odist Pages  1 — 12. 

II. 

T/te  Wesley s  at  Oxford — Their  efforts  to  do  good — Op- 
position— Correspondence  with  Mr.  Wesley,  sen. — Mr. 
Samuel  Wesley,  and  Mrs.  Wesley — Mr.  John  Wesley 
refuses  to  settle  at  Epworth — Remarks — Death  of  Mr. 
Wesley,  sen. —  The  Wesley s  engage  to  go  out  to  Geor- 
gia— Letter  of  Mr.  Gambold.     .    .     Pages  12 — 30. 

III. 

The  Wesleys  on  their  voyage — Intercourse  with  the  Mo- 
ravians— Conduct,  Troubles,  and  Sufferings  i7i  Geor- 
gia— Affair  of  Miss  Hopkey — Mr.  Wesley  returns  to 
England  Pages  30—42. 


IV. 

Mr.  Wesley^s  review  of  his  religious  E.Tperience — Trou- 
ble of  mind — Interview  with  Peter  Bohler — Receives 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  Faith — Preaches  it — 
Mr.  Charles  Wesley''s  religious  Experience — Re- 
marks Pages  42 — 56. 


V. 

State  of  Religion  in  the  Nation — Mr.  Wesley^s  Visit  to 
Germany — Return  to  England — His  Labours  in  Lon- 
don— Meets  with  Mr.  Whitefield — Dr.  Woodward's  So- 
cieties— Mr.  Charles  Wesley's  Labours — Field  Preach- 
ing— Remarks  Pages  56 — 70. 


vi 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Effect  of  the  Labours  of  the  Messrs.  Wesley  and  Mr. 
Whitefield  at  Kingswood — Mr.  Wesley  at  Bath — 
Statement  of  his  doctrinal  views — Separates  from  the 
Moravians  in  London — Formation  of  the  Methodist 
Society — Mr.  Wesley^s  Mother — Correspondence  be- 
tween Mr.  John  and  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley  on  Extraor- 
dinary Emotions,  and  the  doctrine  of  Assurance — 
Remarks — Enthusiasm — Divine  Infuence — Difference 
between  Mr.  Wesley  and  Mr.  Whitefeld — Their  Re- 
conciliation— Mr.  Maxfield — Mr.  Wesley^s  defence  of 
his  calling  out  Preachers  to  assist  him  in  his  work — 
Remarks  Pages  70 — 94. 

VII. 

Peiseculion  in  London — Institution  of  Classes — Mr. 
Wesley  charged  with  being  a  Papist — His  labours  in 
Yorkshire,  NortlMmberlund,  and  Lincolnshire — Death 
of  Mrs.  Susanna  Wesley — Labours  and  Persecutions 
of  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  in  Staffordshire  and  Yorkshire 
— Increase  of  the  Societies — Mr.  Wesley^s  danger  and 
escape  at  Wedyiesbury — His  first  visit  to  Cornwall-Riots 
in  Staffordshire — Preaches  for  the  last  time  before 
the  University  of  Oxford — Correspondence  with  the 
Reo  .  .T.  Erskithe — His  sermon  on  "  A  Catholic  Spi- 
rit"— First  Conference  held — Remarks.   Pag.  94 — 1 16. 

VIII. 

Mr.  Charles  Wesley^s  Labours  in  Cornwall,  Kent,  Staf- 
fordshire, and  the  North  of  England — Persecution  at 
Devizes — Remarks — Mr.  Wesley  at  Newcastle — His 
Statement  of  the  Case  between  the  Clergy  and  the  Me- 
thodists— Remarks — Labours  in  Lincolnshire,  ^c— 
Persecutions  in  Cornwall — Count  Zinzendorf- — Dr. 
Doddridge — Mr.  Wesley  a  writer  of  Tracts — His  sen- 
timents on  Church  Government — Extracts  from  the 
Minutes  of  the  early  Conferences — Remarks — Mr.  Wes- 
ley^s  Labours  in  different  parts  of  the  Kingdom — His 
zeal  to  diffuse  useful  knowledge — Mobs  in  Devonshire — 
Visits  Ireland — Succeeded  there  by  his  brother — Perse' 
cutions  in  Dublin  Pages  116 — 146. 


CONTENTS. 


vii 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Labours  of  the  Preachers — Doctrinal  conversations  of  the 
Conferences — Justification, — Repentance — Faith — As- 
surance— Remarks — Fruits  of  justifying  Faith — Sanc- 
iification —  Witness  of  the  Spirit — Remarks — Spirit  in 
which  Mr.  Wesley  sought  truth — Miscellaneous  Ex- 
tracts from  the  minutes  of  the  early  conferences — Noti- 
ces of  the  deaths  of  Preachers — Re  marks.  Pag.  146-184. 

X. 

Early  List  of  Circuits — Mr.  Charles  Wesley  in  London — 
Earthquake  there — Differences  between  Mr.  Charles  Wes- 
ley and  the  Preachers — Remarks — Respective  views  of 
the  Brothers — Mr.  Wesley's  marriage — Mr.  Perronet — 
Kingswood  School — Remai  ks — .1/r.  Wesley  visits  Scot- 
land— Letters — Sickness — Mr.  WiitefiekVs  Letter  to  him 
in  anticipation  of  his  Death — Mr.  Wesley's  Remarks  on 
Books — His  address  to  the  Clergy — Remarks — Hervey^s 
Letters  Pages  184 — 204. 


XI. 

Methodism  in  America — Revivals  of  Religion — Remarks 
—Mr.  Wesley's  Labours — Notices  of  Books fromhis  Jour 
nals — Minutes  of  the  Conference  of  1770 — Remarks — 
Mr.  Shirley^s  Circular — Mr.  Wesley's  "  'Declaration" — 
Controversy  respecting  the  Minutes — Remarks — In- 
crease of  the  Societies — Projects  for  the  management  of 
the  connexion  after  Mr.  Wesley's  death.  Pages  204-231. 


XII. 

Mr.  Wesley^s  sickness  in  Ireland — Letter  to  the  Commis- 
sioners of  Excise — Visit  to  the  Isle  of  Man — Opening 
of  City-Road  Chapel — ArminianMagazine" — Disputes 
in  the  society  at  Bath — .Mr.  Wesley's  Letter  to  a  Noble- 
man— His  visit  to  Holland — "  Deed  of  Declaration" — 
Remarks  Pages  231—245. 


viii 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

State  of  the  Societies  in  America — Ordination  of  Super- 
intendenis  and  Elders  for  the  American  Societies — Re- 
marks— Dr.  Coke — Mr.  Ashury — Mr.  Charles  Wesley^a 
jRemons trances — Ordinations  for  Scotland — Remarks 
— Mr.  IVesley^s  second  Visit  to  Holland — His  Labours  in 
England,  Ireland,  and  the  Norman  Isles — Return  to 
London — Remarks — Exlraclfrom  a  Sermon  hij  Bishop 
Coplestone — Mr.  Wesley'' s  Reflections  on  the  progress  of 
the  Work,  and  on  entering  his  eighty-fifth  Year. 

Pages  245—275. 

XIV. 

Death  of  Mr.  Charles  Wesley — His  Character — His 
Hymns — Remarks — Mr.  Montgomery's  "  Psalmist" — 
Anecdote  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Wesley,  sen. — Mr.  Wesley^a 
continued  Labours — Refections  on  entering  his  eighty- 
eighth  Year — Last  Sickness — Death — Funeral — Epi- , 
taph — Sketches  of  his  Character  by  different  Writers. 

Pages  275—310. 

XV. 

Mr.  Wesley  and  the  Church — Modern  Methodism  and  the 
Church — Charges  refutedr—Mr.  Wesley's  Writings — 
Extent  of  the  Methodist  Societies  at  his  death,  and  at 
the  present  time — Conclusion.    .    .  Pages  310 — 328. 


THE  LIFE 

or 

THE  REV.  JOHN  WESLEY,  A.  M. 


CHAPTER  I. 

John  and  Charles  Wesley,  the  chief  founders  of  that 
religious  body  now  commonly  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Wesleyan  Methodists,  were  the  sons  of  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Wesley,  rector  of  Epworth,  in  Lincolnshire. 

Of  this  clergyman,  and  his  wife  Mrs.  Susannah  Wes- 
ley, who  was  the  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Annesley,  as 
well  as  the  ancestors  of  both,  an  interesting  account  will 
be  found  in  Dr.  Adam  Clarke's  "  Memoirs  of  the  Wesley 
Family,"  and  in  the  "  Life  of  Mr.  John  Wesley"  by  Dr. 
Whitehead,  and  the  more  recent  one  by  Mr.  Moore.  They 
will  be  noticed  here  only  so  far  as  a  general  knowledge 
of  their  character  may  be  necessary  to  assist  our  judgment 
as  to  the  opinions  and  conduct  of  their  more  celebrated 
sons. 

The  rector  of  Epworth,  like  his  excellent  wife,  had  de- 
scended from  parents  distinguished  for  learning,  piety, 
and  nonconformity.  His  father  dying  whilst  he  was 
young,  he  forsook  the  Dissenters  at  an  early  period  of  life ; 
and  his  conversion  carried  him  into  high  church  princi- 
ples, and  political  toryism.  He  was  not  however  so  rigid 
in  the  former  as  to  prevent  him  from  encouraging  the  early 
zeal  of  his  sons,  John  and  Charles,  at  Oxford,  although  it 
was  even  then  somewhat  irregular,  when  tried  by  the 
strictest  rules  of  church  order  and  custom;  and  his  tory- 
ism, sufficiently  high  in  theory,  was  yet  of  that  class 
which  regarded  the  rights  of  the  subject  tenderly  in  prac- 
tice. He  refused  flattering  overtures  made  by  the  adhe- 
rents of  James  11.,  to  induce  him  to  support  the  measures 
1 


2 


LIFE  OF  WESLrEY. 


of  the  court,  and  wrote  in  favour  of  the  revolution  of  1688 ; 
admiring  it,  probably,  less  in  a  political  view,  than  as  res- 
cuing a  protestant  church  from  the  dangerous  influence 
of  a  popish  head.  For  this  service,  he  was  presented 
with  the  living  of  Epworth,  in  Lincolnshire,  to  which,  a 
few  years  afterwards,  was  added  that  of  Wroote,  in  the 
same  county. 

He  held  the  living  of  Epworth  upwards  of  forty  years, 
and  was  distinguished  for  fhe  zeal  and  fidelity  with  which 
ho  discharged  his  parish  duties.  Of  his  talents  and  learn- 
ing, his  remaining  works  afford  honourable  evidence. 

Mrs.  Susannah  Wesley,  the  mother  of  Mr.  John  Wesley, 
was,  as  might  be  expected  from  the  eminent  character  of 
Dr.  Samuel  Annesley  her  father,  educated  with  great  care. 
Like  her  husband,  she  also,  at  an  early  period  of  life,  re- 
nounced nonconformity,  and  became  a  member  of  the 
established  church,  after,  as  her  biographers  tell  us,  she 
had  read  and  mastered  the  whole  controversy  on  the  sub- 
ject of  separation  ;  of  which,  howevei",  great  as  were  her 
natural  and  acquired  talents,  she  must,  at  the  age  of  thir- 
teen years,  have  been  a  very  imperfect  judge.  The  serious 
habits  impressed  upon  both  by  their  education  did  not  for- 
sake them  ; — "  they  feared  God,  and  wrought  righteous- 
ness but  we  may  perhaps  account  for  that  obscurity  in 
the  views  of  each  on  several  great  points  of  evangelical 
religion,  and  especially  on  justification  by  faith,  and  the 
offices  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  hung  over  their  minds  for 
many  years,  and  indeed  till  towards  the  close  of  life, 
from  this  early  change  of  their  religious  connexions. 
Their  theological  reading,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the 
church-people  of  that  day,  was  now  directed  rather  to  the 
writings  of  those  divines  of  the  English  church  who  were 
tinctured  more  or  less  with  a  Pelagianized  Arminianisra, 
than  to  the  works  of  its  founders ;  their  successors,  the 
Puritans ;  or  of  those  eminent  men  among  the  noncon- 
formists, whose  views  of  discipline  they  had  renounced. 
They  had  parted  with  Calvinism ;  but,  like  many  others, 
they  renounced  with  it,  for  want  of  spiritual  discrimination, 
those  trulhs  which  were  as  fully  maintained  in  the  theology 
of  Arminius,  and  in  that  of  their  eminent  son,  who  revived, 
and  more  fully  illustrated  it,  as  in  the  writings  of  the 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


3 


most  judicious  and  spiritual  Calvinistic  divines  themselves. 
Taylor,  Tillotson,  and  Bull,  who  became  their  oracles, 
were  Armmians  of  a  different  class. 

The  advantage  of  such  a  parentage  to  the  W'esleys 
was  great.  From  their  earliest  years  they  had  an  example 
in  the  father  of  all  that  could  render  a  clergyman  respect- 
able and  influential  j  and,  in  the  mother,  there  was  a 
sanctified  wnsdora,  a  masculine  understanding,  and  an 
acquired  knowledge,  which  they  regarded  with  just  defer- 
ence after  they  became  men  and  scholars.  The  influ- 
ence of  a  piety  so  steadfast  and  uniform,  joined  to  such 
qualities,  and  softened  by  maternal  tenderness,  could 
scarcely  fail  to  produce  effect.  The  firm  and  manly  cha- 
racter, the  practical  sense,  the  active  and  unwearied 
habits  of  the  father,  with  the  calm,  reflecting,  and  stable 
quahties  of  the  mother,  were  in  particular  inherited 
by  Mr.  John  \Yesley;  and  in  him  were  most  happily 
blended.  A  large  portion  of  the  ecclesiastical  principles 
and  prejudices  of  the  rector  of  Epworth  was  also  trans- 
mitted to  his  three  sons ;  but  whilst  Samuel  and  Cliarles 
retained  them  least  impaired,  in  John,  as  we  shall  see, 
they  sustained  in  future  life  considerable  modifications. 

Samuel,  the  eldest  son,  was  born  in  1692;  John,  in 
1703;  and  Charles,  in  1708. 

Samuel  Wesley,  junior,  was  educated  at  Westminster 
School ;  and  in  1711  was  elected  to  Christ  Church,  Oxford. 
He  was  eminent  for  his  learning,  and  was  an  excellent 
poet,  with  great  power  of  satire,  and  an  elegant  wit.  He 
held  a  considerable  rank  among  the  literary  men  of  the 
day,  and  finally  settled  as  head  master  of  the  free  school 
of  Tiverton,  in  Devonshire,  where  he  died  in  1739,  in  his 
forty-ninth  year. 

Mrs.  Wesley  was  the  instructress  of  her  children  in  their 
early  years.  "  I  can  find,"  says  Dr.  Whitehead,  "  no  evi- 
dence that  the  boys  were  ever  put  to  any  school  in  the 
country ;  their  mother  having  a  very  bad  opinion  of  the 
common  methods  of  instructing  and  governing  children." 
She  was  particularly  led,  it  would  seem,  to  interest  herself 
in  John,  who,  when  he  was  about  six  years  old,  had  a  pro- 
vidential and  singular  escape  from  being  burned  to  death, 
upon  the  parsonage  house  being  consumed.    There  is  a 


4 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY, 


striking  passage  in  one  of  her  private  meditations,  which 
contains  a  reference  to  this  event  ;*  and  indicates  that  she 
considered  it  as  laying  her  under  a  special  obligation  "  to 
be  more  particularly  careful  of  the  soul  of  a  child  whom 
God  had  so  mercifully  provided  for."  The  effect  of  this 
special  care  on  the  part  of  the  motlier  was,  that,  under  the 
divine  blessing,  he  became  early  sci-ious ;  for  at  the  age 
of  eight  years,  he  was  admitted  by  his  father  to  partake 
of  the  sacrament.  In  1714,  he  was  placed  at  the  Charter 
House,  "  where  he  was  noticed  for  his  diligence  and  pro- 
gress in  learning."t  "  Here,  for  his  quietness,  regularity, 
and  application,  he  became  a  favourite  with  the  master, 
Dr.  Walker;  and  through  hfe  he  retained  so  great  a  pre- 
dilection for  the  place,  that  on  his  annual  visit  to  Lon- 
don, he  made  it  a  custom  to  walk  through  the  scene  of 
his  boyhood.  To  most  men,  every  year  would  render  a 
pilgrimage  of  this  kind  more  painful  than  the  last ;  but 
Wesley  seems  never  to  have  looked  back  with  melan- 
choly upon  the  days  that  were  gone ;  earthly  regrets  of 
this  kind  could  find  no  room  in  one  who  was  continually 
pressing  onward  to  the  goal."f  Wlien  he  had  attained 
his  seventeenth  year,  he  was  elected  to  Christ  Church, 
Oxford,  "whei-e  he  pursued  his  studies  with  great  advan- 
tage, I  believe  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Wigan,  a  gentle- 
man eminent  for  his  classical  knowledge.  Mr.  Wesley's 
natural  temper  in  his  youth  was  gay  and  sprightly,  with 
a  turn  for  wit  and  humour.  When  he  was  about  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  "he  appeared,"  as  Mr.  Badcock  has  ob- 
served, "  the  very  sensible  and  acute  collegian ;  a  young 
fellow  of  the  finest  classical  taste,  of  the  most  liberal  and 
manly  sentiments."^  His  perfect  knowledge  of  the  clas- 
sics  gave  a  smooth  polish  to  his  wit,  and  an  air  of  superioi 
elegance  to  all  his  compositions.  He  had  already  begun 
to  amuse  himself  occasionally  with  writing  verses,  though 
most  of  his  poetical  pieces,  at  this  period,  were,  I  believe, 

*  The  memory  of  his  deliverance,  on  tliis  occasion,  is  preserved  in 
one  of  his  early  portraits,  which  has,  below  the  head,  the  representa- 
tion of  a  house  in  flames,  with  the  motto,  "  Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked 
from  the  burning"?" 

t  Whitehead's  Life.  t  Southey's  Life. 

§  Westminster  Magazine. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


5 


eilher  imitations  or  translations  of  the  Latin.  Some  time 
in  this  year,  however,  he  wrote  an  imitation  of  the  sixty- 
fifth  Psalm,  which  he  sent  to  liis  fatlier,  who  says,  "I  like 
your  verses  on  the  sixty-fiftli  Psalni ;  and  would  not  have 
you  bury  your  talent."* 

Some  time  after  this,  when  purposing  to  take  deacon's 
orders,  he  was  roused  from  the  religious  carelessness  into 
which  he  had  fallen  at  college,  and  applied  himself  dili- 
gently to  the  reading  of  divinity.  This  more  thoughtful 
frame  appears  to  have  been  indicated  in  his  letters  to  his 
mother,  with  whom  he  kept  up  a  regular  correspondence ; 
for  she  replies,  "  The  alteration  of  your  temper  has  occa- 
sioned me  much  speculation.  I,  who  am  apt  to  be  san- 
guine, hope  it  may  proceed  from  the  operations  of  God's 
Holy  Spirit,  that,  by  taking  off  your  relish  for  earthly  en- 
joyments, he  may  prepare  and  dispose  your  mind  for  a 
more  serious  and  close  application  to  things  of  a  more 
sublime  and  spiritual  nature.  If  it  be  so,  happy  are  you 
if  you  cherish  those  dispositions ;  and  now,  in  good  ear- 
nest, resolve  to  make  religion  the  business  of  your  life ; 
for,  after  all,  that  is  the  one  thing  which,  strictly  speaking, 
is  necessary :  all  things  beside  are  comparatively  little  to 
the  purposes  of  life.  I  heartily  wish  you  would  now  en- 
ter upon  a  strict  examination  of  yourself,  that  you  may 
know,  whether  you  have  a  reasonable  hope  of  salvation  by 
Jesus  Christ.  If  you  have,  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  it 
will  abundantly  reward  your  pains ;  if  you  have  not,  you 
will  find  a  more  reasonable  occasion  for  tears  than  can  be 
met  with  in  a  tragedy.  This  matter  deserves  great  con- 
sideration by  all,  but  especially  by  those  designed  for  the 
ministry;  who  ought,  above  all  things,  to  make  their  own 
calling  and  election  sure ;  lest,  after  they  have  preached  to 
others,  they  themselves  should  be  cast  away." 

This  excellent  advice  was  not  lost  upon  him ;  and  indeed 
his  mother's  admirable  letters  were  among  the  principal 
means,  under  God,  of  producing  that  still  more  decided 
change  in  his  views  which  soon  afterwards  began  to  dis- 
play itself    He  was  now  about  twenty-two  years  of  age. 

The  practical  books  most  read  by  him  at  this  period, 


*  Whitehead's  Life. 
2 


6 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


which  was  probably  employed  as  a  course  of  preparation 
for  holy  orders,  were,  "  The  Christian's  Pattern,"  by 
Thomas  a  Kempis ;  and  Bishop  Taylor's  "  Rules  of  Holy 
Living  and  Dying;"  and  his  correspondence  with  his 
parents  respecting  these  authors  shows  how  carefully  he 
was  weighing  their  merits,  and  investigating  their  mean- 
ing, as  regarding  them  in  the  light  of  spiritual  instructers. 
The  letters  of  his  mother  on  the  points  offered  to  her 
consideration  by  her  son,  show,  in  many  respects,  a 
deeply  thinlving  and  discriminating  mind ;  but  they  are 
also  in  proof  that  both  she  and  her  husband  had  given 
up  their  acquaintance,  if  they  ever  had  any,  with  works 
which  might  have  been  recommended  as  much  more 
suitable  to  tlie  state  of  their  son's  mind,  and  far  superior 
as  a  directory  to  true  Christianity.  This  to  him  would 
have  been  infinitely  more  important  than  discussing  the 
peculiar  views,  and  adjusting  the  proportion  of  excellency 
and  defect,  which  may  be  found  in  such  a  writer  as  Kem- 
pis, whose  "  Christian's  Pattern"  is,  where  in  reality  ex- 
cellent, a  manual  rather  for  him  who  is  a  Christian  already, 
than  for  him  who  is  seeking  to  become  one. 

A  few  things  are  however  to  be  remarked  in  this  cor- 
respondence which  are  of  considerable  interest,  as  show- 
ing the  bearings  of  Mr.  Wesley's  views  as  to  those  truths 
of  which  he  afterwards  obtained  a  satisfactory  conviction, 
and  then  so  clearly  stated  and  defended. 

The  son,  in  writing  to  his  mother  on  Bishop  Taylor's 
book,  states  several  particulars  which  Bishop  Taylor  makes 
necessary  parts  of  humility  and  repentance;  one  of  which, 
m  reference  to  humility,  is,  that  "  we  must  be  sure,  in  some 
sense  or  other,  to  think  ourselves  the  worst  in  every  com- 
pany where  we  come."  And  in  treating  of  repentance  he 
says,  "  Whether  God  has  forgiven  us,  or  no,  we  know  not; 
therefore  be  sorrowful  for  ever  having  sinned."  "  I  take 
the  more  notice  of  this  last  sentence,"  says  Mr.  Wesley, 
"  because  it  seems  to  contradict  his  own  words  in  the  next 
section,  where  he  says,  that  by  the  Lord's  supper  all  the 
members  are  united  to  one  another,  and  to  Christ  the 
head.  The  Holy  Ghost  confers  on  us  the  graces  neces- 
sary for,  and  our  souls  receive  the  seeds  of,  an  immortal 
nature.    Now,  surely  these  graces  are  not  of  so  little 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


7 


force  as  that  we  cannot  perceive  whether  we  have  them, 
or  not:  if  we  dwdl  in  Christ,  and  Christ  in  us,  which  he 
will  not  do  unless  we  are  regenerate,  certainly  we  must  be 
sensible  of  it.  If  we  can  never  have  any  certainty  of  our 
being  in  a  state  of  salvation,  good  reason  it  is  that  every 
moment  should  be  spent,  not  in  joy,  but  in  fear  and  trem- 
bling; and  then  undoubtedly,  in  this  life,  we  are  of  all 
men  most  miserable.  God  deliver  us  from  such  a  fearful 
expectation  as  this!  Humility  is,  undoubtedly,  necessary 
to  salvation ;  and  if  all  these  things  are  essential  to  hu- 
mility, M  ho  can  be  humble  ?  who  can  be  saved 

The  mother,  in  reply,  suggests  to  him  some  good 
thoughts  and  useful  distinctions  on  the  subject  of  humility; 
but  omits  to  afford  him  any  assistance  on  the  point  of  the 
possibility  of  obtaining  a  comfortable  persuasion  of  being 
in  a  state  of  salvation,  through  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  which  he  already  discerned  to  be  the  privilege  of  a 
real  believer,  though  as  yet  he  was  greatly  perplexed  as 
to  the  means  of  attaining  it.  At  this  period  too  he  makes 
the  important  distinction  between  assurance  of  present, 
and  assurance  of  future,  salvation;  by  confounding  which, 
so  many,  from  their  objection  to  the  Calvinistic  notion  of 
the  infallible  perseverance  of  the  saints,  have  given  up  the 
doctrine  of  assurance  altogether.  "  That  we  can  never  be 
so  certain  of  the  pardon  of  our  sins,  as  to  be  assured  they 
will  never  rise  up  against  us,  I  firmly  believe.  We  know 
that  they  will  infallibly  do  so  if  ever  we  apostatize;  and 
I  am  not  satisfied  what  evidence  there  can  be  of  our  final 
perseverance,  till  we  have  finished  our  course.  But  I  am 
persuaded  we  may  know  if  we  are  now  in  a  state  of  salva- 
tion, since  that  is  expressly  promised  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures to  our  sincere  endeavours;  and  we  are  surely  able 
to  judge  of  our  own  sincerity." 

The  latter  part  of  this  extract  will,  however,  show  how 
much  he  had  yet  to  learn  as  to  "  the  way  to  the  Father." 
Mrs.  Wesley  also  corrects  a  defective  definition  of  faith, 
which  her  son's  letter  had  contained,  in  the  following  sen- 
sible remarks ;  which  are  just,  as  far  as  they  go,  but  below 
the  true  scriptural  standard,  and  the  proper  conception 
of  that  saving  faith  after  which  her  son  was  inquiring : — 
"  You  are  somcM'hat  mistaken  in  your  notions  of  faith. 


8 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


All  faith  is  an  assent,  but  all  assent  is  not  faith.  Some 
truths  are  self-evident,  and  we  assent  to  them  because 
they  are  so.  Others,  after  a  regular  and  formal  process 
of  reason  by  way  of  deduction  from  some  self-evident 
pi-inciple,  gain  our  assent.  This  is  not  properly  faith, 
but  science.  Some  again  we  assent  to,  not  because  they 
are  self-evident,  or  because  we  have  attained  the  know- 
ledge of  them  in  a  regular  method  by  a  train  of  argu- 
ments, but  because  they  have  been  revealed  to  us,  either 
by  God  or  man;  and  these  are  the  proper  objects  of  faith. 
The  true  measure  of  faith  is  the  authority  of  the  revealer ; 
the  weight  of  which  always  holds  proportion  to  our  con- 
viction of  his  ability  and  integrity.  Divine  faith  is  an 
assent  to  whatever  God  has  revealed  to  us,  because  he 
has  revealed  it." 

Predestination  was  another  subject  touched  upon  in 
this  interesting  correspondence.  Mr.  "Wesley  was  pro- 
bably led  to  it  by  his  review  of  the  articles  of  the  church 
previous  to  his  ordination ;  and  he  thus  expresses  him- 
self on  this  controverted  subject :  "  What  then  shall  I 
say  of  predestination?  An  everlasting  purpose  of  God 
to  deliver  some  from  damnation,  does,  I  suppose,  exclude 
all  from  that  deliverance  who  are  not  chosen.  And  if  it 
was  inevitably  decreed  from  eternity,  that  such  a  deter- 
minate part  of  mankind  should  be  saved,  and  none  beside 
them,  a  vast  majority  of  the  world  were  only  born  to 
eternal  death,  without  so  much  as  a  possibility  of  avoid- 
ing it.  How  is  this  consistent  with  either  the  divine  jus- 
tice or  mercy?  Is  it  merciful  to  ordain  a  creature  to 
everlasting  misery?  Is  it  just  to  punish  a  man  for  crimes 
which  he  could  not  but  commit?  That  God  should  be 
the  author  of  sin  and  injustice,  which  must,  I  think,  be 
the  consequence  of  maintaining  this  opinion,  is  a  contra- 
diction to  the  clearest  ideas  we  have  of  the  divine  nature 
and  perfections."* 

From  these  views  he  never  departed ;  and  the  terms  he 
uses  contain  indeed  the  only  rational  statement  of  the 
whole  question. 

He  was  ordained  deacon  in  September,  1725,  and  the 


♦  Whitehead's  life. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


9 


year  following  was  elected  fellow  of  Lincoln  College. 
His  previous  seriousness  had  been  the  subject  of  much 
banter  and  ridicule,  and  appears  to  have  been  urged 
against  him,  in  the  election,  by  his  opponents  j  but  his 
reputation  for  learning  and  diligence,  and  the  excellence 
of  his  character,  triumphed ;  and,  what  was  probably  to 
him  the  greatest  pleasure,  he  had  the  gratification  of  see- 
ing the  joy  this  event  gave  to  his  venerable  parents,  and 
which  was  emphatically  expressed  in  their  letters.  Seve- 
ral specimens  of  his  poetry,  composed  about  this  time, 
are  given  by  his  biographers,  which  show  that,  had  he 
cultivated  that  department  of  literature,  he  would  not 
have  occupied  an  inferior  place  among  the  tasteful  and 
elegant  votaries  of  verse:  but  he  soon  found  more  serious 
and  more  useful  employment. 

He  spent  the  summer  after  his  election  to  the  fellow- 
ship with  his  parents,  in  Lincolnshire,  and  took  that  op- 
portunity of  conversing  with  them  at  large  upon  those 
serious  topics  which  then  fully  occupied  his  mind.  In 
September,  he  returned  to  Oxford,  and  resumed  his  usual 
studies.  "  His  literary  character  was  now  established  in 
the  university ;  he  was  acknowledged  by  all  parties  to  be 
a  man  of  talents,  and  an  excellent  critic  in  the  learned 
languages.  His  compositions  were  distinguished  by  an 
elegant  simplicity  of  style,  and  justness  of  thought,  that 
strongly  marked  the  excellence  of  his  classical  taste.  His 
skill  in  logic,  or  the  art  of  reasoning,  was  universally 
known  and  admired.  The  high  opinion  that  was  enter- 
tained of  him  in  these  respects  was  soon  publicly  ex- 
pressed, by  choosing  him  Greek  lecturer,  and  moderator 
of  the  classes,  on  the  seventh  of  November ;  though  he 
had  only  been  elected  fellow  of  the  college  in  March,  was 
little  more  than  twenty-three  years  of  age,  and  had  not 
proceeded  master  of  arts."*  He  took  this  degree  in 
February,  1727;  became  his  father's  curate  in  August 
the  same  year;  returned  to  Oxford  in  1728,  to  obtain 
priest's  orders;  and  paid  another  visit  to  Oxford  in  1729; 
where,  during  his  stay,  he  attended  the  meetings  of  a 
small  societ}'  formed  by  his  brother  Charles,  Mr.  Morgan, 


♦.Whitehead's  Lifa 
2* 


10 


LIFE  OF  WESLET. 


and  a  few  others,  to  assist  each  other  in  their  studies, 
and  to  consult  how  to  employ  their  time  to  the  best 
advantage. 

After  about  a  month,  he  returned  to  Epworth;  but 
npon  Dr.  Morley,  the  rector  of  his  college,  requiring  his 
residence,  he  quitted  his  father's  curacy,  and  in  Novem- 
ber again  settled  in  Oxford.  He  now  obtained  pupils, 
and  became  tutor  in  the  College;  presided  as  moderator 
in  the  disputations  six  times  a  week;  and  had  the  chief 
direction  of  a  religious  society.  From  this  time  he  stood 
more  prominently  forward  in  his  religious  character,  and 
hi  efforts  to  do  good  to  others;  and  began  more  fully  to 
prove  tliat  "  they  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  must 
suffer  peisecution."  It  is  however  necessary  to  turn  to 
the  history  of  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  whose  labours  in  the 
early  periods  of  Methodism  were  inferior  only  to  those  of 
Jiis  brother. 

Charles  Wesley  was,  as  above  stated,  five  years  young- 
er than  his  brother  John ;  and  Avas  educated  at  Westmin- 
ster school,  under  his  eldest  brother,  Samuel,  from  whom 
he  is  said  to  have  derived  a  still  stronger  tincture  of  high 
church  principles  than  was  imbibed  under  the  paternal 
roof.  "  When  he  had  been  some  years  at  school,  Mr.  R. 
Wesley,  a  gentleman  of  large  fortune  in  Ireland,  Avrote  to 
his  father,  and  asked  if  he  had  any  son  named  Charles ;  if 
so,  he  would  make  hira  his  heir-  Accordingly,  a  gentle- 
man in  London  brought  money  for  his  education  several 
years.  But  one  year  another  gentleman  called,  probably 
Mr.  Wesley  himself,  talked  largely  with  him,  and  asked 
if  he  was  willing  to  go  with  him  to  Ireland.  Mr.  Charles 
desired  to  write  to  his  father,  who  answered  immediately, 
and  referred  it  to  his  own  choice.  He  chose  to  stay  in 
England."*  "Mr.  John  Wesley,  in  his  account  of  his 
brother,  calls  this  a  fair  escape.  The  fact  is  more,  re- 
markable than  he  was  aware  of;  for  the  person  who  in- 
herited the  property  intended  for  Charles  Wesley,  and 
who  took  the  name  of  Wesley,  or  Wellesley,  in  conse- 
quence, was  the  first  earl  of  Mornington,  grandfather  of 
Marquis  Wellesley  and  the  duke  of  Wellington."! 

*  Whitehead's  Life,  vol.  i.  p.  98.    _  t  Southey's  Life, 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


11 


The  lively  disposition  of  Charles,  although  he  pursued 
his  studies  diligently,  and  was  unblamable  in  his  conduct, 
repelled  all  those  exhortations  to  a  more  strictly  religious 
course  which  John  seriously  urged  upon  him,  after  he 
was  elected  to  Christ  church.  During  his  brother's  ab- 
sence, as  his  father's  curate,  liis  letters,  however,  became 
more  grave ;  and  wlien  Mr.  John  Wesley  returned  to 
Oxford,  in  November,  1729,  "  I  found  him,"  he  observes, 
"in  great  earnestness  to  save  his  soul."  His  own  ac- 
count of  himself  is,  that  he  lost  his  first  year  at  col- 
lege in  diversions ;  that  the  next,  he  set  himself  to  study; 
that  diligence  led  him  into  serious  thinking;  that  he 
went  to  the  weekly  sacrament,  persuading  two  or  three 
students  to  accompany  him ;  and  that  he  observed  the 
method  of  study  prescribed  by  the  statutes  of  the  univer- 
sity. "  This,"  says  he,  "  gained  me  tlie  harmless  name  of 
Methodist.'''*    Thus  it  appears  that  Charles  was  the  first 

♦  From  the  name  of  an  ancient  sect  of  Physicians,  say  some  of 
Mr.  Wesley's  biographers;  but  probably  the  wits  of  Oxford,  who 
imposed  the  name,  knew  nothing  of  that  sect  of  the  middle  ages. 
The  nonconfonnists  were  often  called,  in  derision,  Methodists; 
and  the  name  was  probably  transmitted  from  them;  or  it  might 
he  given  merely  from  the  rigid  adherence  to  method  in  study  by 
Mr.  Charles  Wesley.  It  is,  however,  somewhat  worthy  of  notice, 
that  before  the  times  of  nonconformity,  properly  so  called,  we  find 
Methodists  mentioned  as  one  of  the  minor  sects  in  conjunction  with 
the  Anabaptists;  for,  as  early  as  1639,  in  a  sermon  preached  at 
Lambeth,  they  are  rated  in  good  set  style  for  their  aversion  to 
rhetorical  sermons : — "  Wlicre  are  now  rmr  Anabaptists,  and  plain 
paik-slaff  Methodists,  who  esteem  of  all  flowers  of  rhetoric  in 
sermons  no  better  than  stinking  weeds,  and  of  all  elegancies 
of  speech  no  better  than  profane  spells'!"  &c.  Their  fault  in 
those  days,  it  ap[)ears,  waS  to  i)refer  plain  preacliing;  no  bad 
compliment,  though  an  undesigned  one.  The  epithet  used  to  de- 
scribe them,  may  also  intimate  that  they  were  plain  in  dress  and 
manners.  At  a  later  period,  I()93,  some  of  the  nonconformists, 
who  had  renounced  the  imputation  of  Christ's  righteousness  in 
justification,  except  in  the  merit  of  it,  and  whose  views  were 
somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  on  the 
imputation  of  faith  for  righteousness,  were  called  by  their  brethren, 
the  New  Methodists.  They  were  not  however  a  sect,  but  were  so 
denominated  from  the  new  method  which  they  took  in  stating  the 
doctrine  of  justification.  Thus  we  have  a  Calvinistic  pamphlet, 
under  this  date,  vNTitten  against  "  the  principles  of  the  New  Metho-. 
(iiats  in  the  great  point  of  justification." 


12 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


modern  Methodist,  and  that  he  in  fact  laid  the  foundations 
of  the  rehgious  society  which  continues  to  be  distinguish- 
ed by  that  appellation.  To  this  society  Mr.  John  Wesley 
joined  himself  on  his  return  to  reside  at  Oxford ;  and  by 
his  influence  and  energy  gave  additional  vigour  to  their 
exertions  to  promote  their  own  spiritual  improvement,  and 
the  good  of  others.  The  union  of  system  and  efficiency 
which  this  association  presented  well  accorded  with  his 
practical  and  governing  mind ;  and,  no  doubt,  under  the 
leadings  of  a  superior  agency,  of  which  he  was  uncon- 
scious, he  was  thus  training  himself  to  those  habits  of 
regular  and  influential  exertion  and  enterprise  which  sub- 
sequently rendered  him  the  instrument  of  a  revival  of 
religion  throughout  the  land.  Of  the  little  society  of 
which,  by  the  mere  fo;-ce  of  his  character,  he  thus  became 
the  head,  Mr.  Hervey,  the  author  of  the  "  Meditations," 
and  the  celebrated  Wliitefield,  were  members. 


CHAPTER  11. 

The  strictly  religious  profession  which  Mr.  Wesley 
must  now  be  considered  as  making  at  Oxford, — a  profes- 
sion so  strongly  marked  as  to  become  matter  of  public 
notice,  and  accompanied  with  so  much  zeal  as  to  excite 
both  ridicule  and  opposition,  requires  to  be  carefully 
examined.  After  all,  he  thought  himself  to  be  but 
"  almost,"  and  not  "  altogether,"  a  Christian, — a  conclu- 
sion of  a  very  perplexing  kind  to  many  who  have  set  up 
themselves  for  better  judges  in  his  case  than  he  himself. 
From  a  similar  cause,  we  have  seen  St.  Paul  all  but  re- 
proved by  some  divines  for  representing  himself  "  as  the 
chief  of  sinners,"  at  the  time  when  he  was  "  blameless" 
as  to  "  the  righteousness  of  the  law ;"  and,  but  for  the 
courtesy  due  to  an  inspired  man,  he  would,  probably,  in 
direct  contradiction  to  his  own  words,  have  been  pro- 
nounced the  chief  of  saints  ;  although  his  heart  remained 
a  total  stranger  to  humility  and  charity. 

The  Wesleys  at  Oxford  were  indeed  not  only  in  a  higlier 
but  in  an  essentially  different  state  of  religious  experience 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


13 


from  that  of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  notwithstanding  his  array  of 
legal  zeal  and  external  virtue  ;  but  if  our  views  of  personal 
religion  must  be  taken  from  tlie  New  Testament,  although 
as  to  men  they  were  blameless  and  exemplary,  yet,  in 
respect  to  God,  those  internal  clianges  had  not  taken 
place  in  them  which  it  is  the  office  of  real  Cliristianity 
to  effect.  They  Avere,  however,  most  sincere ;  they  were 
"  faithful  in  that  which  is  little,"  and  God  gave  them 
"the  true  riches."  They  "  sought  God  with  aU  their 
heart  ;"  and  they  ultimately  found  him,  but  in  a  way 
which  at  that  time  "  they  knew  not."  The  very  writers, 
Bishop  Taylor  and  Mr.  Law,  who  so  powerfully  wought 
upon  their  consciences,  were  among  the  most  erring  guides 
to  that  "  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  understanding," 
for  which  they  sighed  ;  and  those  celebrated  divines,  ex- 
celled by  none  for  genius  and  eloquence,  who  could  draw 
the  picture  of  a  practical  piety  so  copious  and  exact  in  its 
external  manifestations,  were  unable  to  teach  that  mystic 
connexion  of  the  branches  with  tlie  vine,  from  which  the 
only  fruits  which  are  of  healthy  growth  and  genuine 
flavor  can  proceed.  Both  are  too  defective  in  their  views 
of  faith,  and  of  its  object,  the  atonement  of  Christ,  to  be 
able  to  direct  a  penitent  and  troubled  spirit  into  the  way  of 
salvation,  and  to  show  how  all  tlie  principles  and  acts  of 
truly  Christian  piety  are  sustamed  by  a  life  of  "  faith  in 
the  Son  of  God."  To  this  subject,  however,  Mr.  Wesley's 
own  account  of  himself  will,  subsequently,  again  call  our 
attention. 

Bishop  Taylor's  chapter  on  purity  of  intention  first  con- 
vinced Mr.  Wesley  of  the  necessity  of  being  holy  in  heart, 
as  well  as  regular  in  his  outward  conduct  ;  and  having, 
for  the  first  time,  formed  an  acquaintance  with  a  reli- 
gious friend,  "  he  began  to  alter  the  whole  form  of  his 
conversation,  and  to  set  in  earnest  upon  a  new  life." 
"  He  communicated  every  week.  He  watched  against  all 
sin,  whether  in  word  or  deed,  and  began  to  aim  at,  and 
pray  for,  inward  holiness  ;"*  but  still  with  a  painful  con- 
sciousness that  he  found  not  that  which  he  so  earnestly 
sought.    His  error,  at  this  period,  was  drawn  from  his 


Journal. 


14 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


theological  guides  just  mentioned  ;  he  either  confounded 
sanctificatioa  with  justification,  that  is,  a  real  with  a 
relative  cnange,  or  he  regarded  sanctification  as  a  prepa- 
ration for,  and  a  condition  of  justification.  He  had  not 
yet  learned  the  Apostle's  doctrine,  the  gratuitous  justifica- 
tion of  "  the  ungodly,"  when  penitent,  and  upon  the  sole 
condition  of  believing  in  Christ ;  nor  that  upon  this  there 
follows  a  "  death"  unto  all  inward  and  outward  sin  ; 
so  that  he  who  is  so  justified  can  "  no  longer  continue 
therein."  It  is,  however,  deeply  interesting,  to  trace  the 
progress  of  his  mind  through  its  agitations,  inquiries, 
hopes,  and  fears,  until  the  moment  when  he  found  that 
steadfast  peace  which  never  afterwards  forsook  him,  but 
gave  serenity  to  his  countenance,  and  cheerfulness  to  his 
heart,  to  the  last  hour  of  a  prolonged  life. 

The  eflTects  of  the  strong  impression  which  had  been 
made  upon  him  by  the  practical  writings  of  Taylor  and 
Law  promptly  manifested  themselves.  The  discipline  he 
maintained  as  a  tutor  over  his  pupils  was  more  strict 
than  the  university  had  been  accustomed  to  witness ;  and 
for  this  reason,  that  it  was  more  deeply  and  comprehen- 
sively conscientious.  He  regarded  himself  as  responsible 
to  God  for  exerting  himself  to  his  utmost,  not  only  to 
promote  their  learning,  but  to  regulate  their  moral  habits, 
and  to  form  their  religious  principles.  Here  his  discipli- 
nary habits  had  their  first  manifestation.  He  required 
them  to  rise  very  early ;  he  directed  their  reading,  and 
controlled  their  general  conduct,  by  rules  to  which  he 
exacted  entire  obedience.  This  was  not  well  taken  by 
the  friends  of  some  ;  but  from  others  he  received  very 
grateful  letters ;  and  several  of  his  pupils  themselves  were 
not  insensible  of  the  obligations  they  owed  to  him,  not 
only  on  a  religious  account,  but  for  thus  enabling  them  to 
reap  the  full  advantages  of  that  seat  of  learning,  by  re- 
straining them  from  its  dissipations. 

The  little  society  of  Methodists,  as  they  were  called, 
began  now  to  extend  its  operations.  When  Mr.  Wesley 
joined  them,  they  committed  its  management  to  him,  and 
he  has  himself  stated  its  original  members  : — 

"  In  November,  1729,  four  young  gentlemen  of  Oxford, 
Mr.  John  Wesley,  Fellow  of  Lincoln  College  ;  Mr. 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


15 


»5harles  Wesley,  student  of  Christ  churcli ;  Mr.  Morgan, 
commoner  of  Christ  church ;  and  Mr.  Kirlcman,  of  Mer- 
ton  college,  began  to  spend  some  evenings  in  a  week  toge- 
ther, in  reading  chiefly  the  Greek  Testament.  The  next 
year,  two  or  three  of  Mr.  John  Wesley's  pupils  desired  the 
liberty  of  meeting  with  them  ;  and  afterwards  one  of  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley-s  pupils.  It  was  in  1732  that  Mr.  Ingham, 
of  Queen's  college,  and  Mr.  Eroughton,  of  Exeter,  were 
added  to  their  number.  To  these,  in  April,  was  joined  Mr. 
Clayton,  of  Brazen-nose,  with  two  or  three  of  his  pupils. 
About  the  same  time  Mr.  James  Hervey  was  permitted  to 
meet  with  them,  and  afterwards  Mr.  Whitefield."* 

Mr.  Morgan  led  the  way  to  their  visiting  the  prisoners 
in  the  Oxford  gaol,  for  the  purpose  of  affording  them  reli- 
gious instruction.  They  afterwards  resolved  to  spend  two 
or  three  hours  a  week  in  visiting  and  relieving  the  poor 
and  the  sick,  generally,  where  the  parish  ministers  did  not 
object  to  it.  This  was,  however,  so  novel  a  practice,  and 
might  be  deemed  by  some  so  contrary  to  church  order, 
that  Mr.  Wesley  consulted  his  father  upon  the  point.  Mr. 
Wesley,  senior,  answered  the  inquiry  in  a  noble  letter, 
equally  honourable  to  his  feelings  as  a  father,  and  a  mi- 
nister of  Christ.  They  had  his  full  sanction  for  prosecu- 
ting their  pious  labours  ;  he  blessed  God  who  had  given 
him  two  sons  together  at  Oxford,  who  had  received  grace 
and  courage  to  turn  the  war  against  the  world  and  the 
devil ;  he  bids  them  defy  reproach,  and  animates  them  in 
God's  name  to  go  on  in  the  path  to  which  their  Saviour 
had  directed  them.  At  the  same  time,  he  advises  them 
to  consult  with  the  chaplain  of  the  prison,  and  to  obtain 
the  approbation  of  the  bishop.  This  high  sanction  was 
obtained  ;  but  it  was  not  sufficient  to  screen  tliem  from 
the  rebukes  of  the  gravely  lukewarm,  or  the  malignantly 
vicious.  Sarcasm  and  serious  opposition  robbed  them  of 
one  of  their  number,  %vho  had  not  fortitude  to  bear  the 
shafts  of  ridicule,  or  to  resist  the  persuasion  of  friends  ; 
and  the  opposition  being  now  headed  by  some  persons  of 
influence,  Mr.  Wesley  had  again  recourse,  by  letter,  to  his 
father's  counsel.  The  answer  deserves  to  be  transcribed 
at  length  : — 

*  Journal. 


16 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


"  This  day  I  received  both  yours,  and  this  evening,  in. 
the  course  of  our  reading,  I  thought  I  found  an  answer 
that  would  be  more  proper,  than  any  I  myself  could  dic- 
tate ;  though  since  it  will  not  be  easily  translated,  I  send 

it  in  the  original.  HoXXi?  jxoi  KavxifS  imp  VjiuV  mirKfipafiai  rg 
TTOpoicXi'iTCi-  vrrtfimpiaacvofiai  rrj  X<'P^^'*     What    WOUld    yOU  be? 

Would  you  be  angels  ?  I  question  whether  a  mortal  can 
arrive  to  a  greater  degree  of  perfection  than  steadily  to  do 
good,  and  for  that  very  reason  patiently  and  meekly  to 
suffer  evil.  For  my  part,  on  the  present  view  of  your 
actions  and  designs,  my  daily  prayers  are,  that  God  would 
keep  you  humble  ;  and  then  I  am  sure  that  if  you  con- 
tinue '  to  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake,'  though  it  be  but 
in  a  lower  degree,  the  Spirit  of  God  and  of  glory  shall  in 
some  good  measure  rest  upon  you.  And  you  cannot  but 
feel  such  a  satisfaction  in  your  own  minds  as  you  would 
not  part  with  for  all  the  world.  Be  never  weary  of  well 
doing ;  never  look  back,  for  you  know  the  prize  and  the 
crown  are  before  you ;  though  I  can  scarce  think  so 
meanly  of  you,  as  that  you  should  be  discouraged  with 
the  'crackling  of  thorns  under  a  pot.'  Be  not  high-minded, 
but  fear.  Preserve  an  equal  temper  of  mind  under  what- 
ever treatment  you  meet  with,  from  a  not  very  just  or 
well-natured  world.  Bear  no  more  sail  than  is  necessary, 
but  steer  steady.  The  less  you  value  yourselves  for  these' 
unfashionable  duties,  (as  there  is  no  such  thing  as  works 
of  supererogation,)  the  more  all  good  and  wise  men  will 
value  you,  if  they  sec  your  works  are  all  of  a  piece  ;  or, 
which  is  infinitely  more.  He  by  whom  actions  and  inten- 
tions are  weighed  will  both  accept,  esteem,  and  reward  you. 

"  I  hear  my  son  John  has  the  honour  of  being  styled 
the '  Father  of  the  Holy  Club if  it  be  so,  I  am  sure  I  must 
be  the  grandfather  of  it;  and  I  need  not  say,  that  I  had 
rather  any  of  my  sons  should  be  so  dignified  and  distin- 
guished, than  to  have  the  title  of  His  Holiness."* 

Thus  encouraged,  they  proceeded  in  their  course  with 
meekness  and  constancy  ;  to  relieve  the  poor,  they  sacri- 
ficed all  the  superfluities,  and  sometimes  .the  conveni- 

*  2  Cor.  vii.  4.    Great  is  my  glorying  of  you.    I  am  filled  with  com- 
fort.   I  am  exceedingly  joyful. — AuthDfised  Version, 
t  Whitehead's  Life. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


17 


ences  of  life ;  and  they  redoubled  their  efforts  to  produce 
religious  impressions  upon  their  college  acquaintance, 
as  well  as  upon  the  ignorant,  the  poor,  and  the  sick. 
The  apology  for  these  pious  and  praiseworthy  efforts, 
which,  on  the  increase  of  the  outcry  made  against  them, 
Mr.  Wesley  published  in  the  modest  form  of  queries, 
amply  indicates  the  low  state  of  religious  feeling  in 
the  university  ;  and  we  may  well  conclude  with  one  of 
Mr.  Wesley's  biographers,  that  "  a  voluntary  scheme  of 
so  much  private  and  public  good,  such  piety,  with  such 
beneficence,  certainly  merited  a  different  return ;  and,  if 
the  university,  in  general,  instead  of  ridiculing  or  perse- 
cuting them,  had  had  the  grace  to  imitate  their  example, 
it  would  have  been  much  better  both  for  the  public  and 
themselves." 

Even  their  eldest  brother  Samuel  added  his  seasonable 
exhortations  to  perseverance,  in  a  short,  but  vigorous 
letter : — "  I  cannot  say,  I  thought  you  always,  in  every 
thing  right ;  but  I  must  now  say,  rather  than  you  and 
Charles  should  give  over  your  whole  course,  especially 
what  relates  to  the  castle,  I  would  choose  to  follow  either 
of  you,  nay,  both  of  you,  to  your  graves.  I  cannot  advise 
you  better,  than  in  the  words  I  proposed  for  a  motto  to  a 

pamphlet,  ISpa'os      dKji(i)v  TVTrr6jj£vos'  Ka\S  yap  ddXrjrS  Sepccdat  KaX 

'  Stand  thou  steadfast  as  a  beaten  anvil ;  for  it  is 
the  part  of  a  good  champion  to  be  flayed  alive  and  to 
conquer.'  "* 

Sickness,  and  cowardly  desertion  arising  from  weariness 
of  the  cross,  some  time  after  this,  reduced  the  number  of 
this  little  society  of  zealous  young  men,  and  the  brothers 
were  left  to  stand  almost  alone  ;  but  they  still  persevered 
•with  unabated  zeal  and  diligence  in  their  attempts  to  do 
good,  exhibiting  a  rare  example  of  decision,  only  to  be 
accounted  for  by  a  preparing  influence  of  God  upon  their 
hearts,  thus  training  them  up  for  still  more  arduous  ser- 
vice. This  it  was  which  had  implanted  in  them  those 
admirable  principles  which  are  unreservedly  laid  open  in 
a  letter  of  Mr.  John  Wesley  to  his  brother  Samuel,  who 
had  begun  to  think  that  they  were  pushing  the  strictness 
of  their  personal  piety  too  far. 

•  Whitehead's  Life. 
3 


18 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


"1.  As  to  the  end  of  my  being,  I  lay  it  down  for  a 
rule,  that  I  cannot  be  too  happy,  or  therefore  too  holy ; 
and  thence  infer  that  the  more  steadily  I  keep  my  eye 
upon  the  prize  of  our  high  calling,  and  the  more  of  my 
thoughts  and  words  and  actions  are  directly  pointed  at 
the  attainment  of  it,  the  better.  2.  As  to  the  instituted 
means  of  attaining  it,  I  likewise  lay  it  down  for  a  rule, 
that  I  am  to  use  them  every  time  1  may.  3.  As  to  pru- 
dential means,  I  believe  this  rule  holds  of  things  indiffer- 
ent in  themselves  ;  whatever  1  know  to  do  me  hurt,  that  to 
me  is  not  indifferent,  but  resolutely  to  be  abstained  from  : 
Avhatever  I  know  to  do  me  good,  that  to  me  is  not  indif- 
ferent, but  resolutely  to  be  embraced."* 

Adverting  to  this  charge  of  over  strictness,  and  being 
"  righteous  overmuch,"  he  also  earnestly  requests  hig 
mother  to  point  out  any  instance  in  which  she  might 
judge,  from  their  unreserved  communications  to  her  of 
every  part  of  their  conduct,  that  they  were  too  superstitious 
or  enthusiastic  on  the  one  hand  or  too  remiss  on  the 
other.  Some  anxiety  had  indeed  been  created  at  home 
by  the  singularity  of  their  proceedings,  and  the  opposition 
they  had  roused  at  Oxford,  which  was  probably  the  chief 
reason  why  the  father  extended  his  journey  from  London 
to  Oxford  at  the  close  of  the  year  1731.  He  was,  how- 
ever, evidently  satisfied  with  his  personal  observations  and 
inquiries;  for  on  his  return_to  London,  he  writes  to  Mrs. 
Wesley,  that  he  had  been  well  repaid  for  the  expense  and 
labour  of  his  journey  to  Oxford,  "  by  the  shining  piety  of 
our  two  sons." 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  zeal,  devotedness,  and  patience 
of  reproach,  when  the  eye  of  man  could  see  nothing  but 
a  mature  and  vital  Cnristianity,  we  are  enabled  to  ascer- 
tain the  state  of  Mr.  Wesley's  own  heart,  as  laid  open  by 
himself.  Speaking  of  a  time  a  little  subsequent  to  the 
decided  impressions  he  had  received  from  the  reading  of 
Bishop  Taylor's  "  Holy  Living  and  Dying,"  and  Mr. 
Law's  "  Serious  Call,"  he  says,  "  I  was  convinced  more 
than  ever,  of  the  exceeding  height  and  breadth  and  depth 
of  the  law  of  God.    The  light  flowed  in  so  mightily  upon 

♦  Whitehead's  Life, 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


19 


my  soul,  that  every  thing  appeared  in  a  new  view.  I 
cried  to  God  for  help,  and  resolved  not  to  prolong  the 
time  of  obeying  him  as  I  had  never  done  before.  And  by 
my  continued  endeavoux-  to  keep  his  whole  laAV,  inward 
and  outward,  to  the  best  of  my  power,  I  was  persuaded 
that  I  should  be  accepted  of  him  ;  and  that  I  was  even 
then  in  a  state  of  salvation." 

He  was  now  manifestly  seeking  justification  before 
God  by  efforts  at  a  perfect  obedience  to  his  law  ;  nor  was 
he  then  quite  hopeless  as  to  success.  Some  time  after- 
ward, still  clearly  convinced  as  he  had  been  from  the  first 
that  he  was  not  in  that  state  of  mind,  that  settled  enjoy- 
ment of  conscious  peace  with  God,  that  love  to  him, 
dehght  in  him,  and  filial  access  to  him,  which  the  New 
Testament  describes  as  the  privilege  of  a  true  believer, 
but  still  dihgently  persevering  in  the  rigid  practice  of 
every  discovered  duty  in  the  hope  of  seizing  tlie  great 
prize  by  this  means,  he  became  greatly  surprised  that  he 
was  so  far  from  obtaining  it.  He  was  often  dull  and 
formal  in  the  use  of  the  ordinances,  and  was  on  that 
account  thrown  "  into  distress  and  perplexity  ;  so  that  he 
seemed  at  a  loss  which  way  to  proceed,  to  obtain  the 
happiness  and  security  he  wanted."*  The  deep  tone  of 
feeling,  and  the  earnestness  of  his  inquiries,  in  the  follow- 
ing passages  from  a  letter  to  his  mother,  written  in  1732, 
present  this  state  of  his  mind  in  a  very  affecting  light. 
He  then  needed  some  one  more  fully  instructed  in  the 
true  doctrine  of  salvation,  than  even  this  excellent  and 
intelligent  "  guide  of  his  youth,"  to  teach  him  to  lay 
down  the  burden  of  his  wounded  and  anxious  spirit,  in 
self-despair  as  to  his  own  efforts,  at  the  foot  of  the  cross 
of  Christ. 

After  mentioning  Mr.  Morgan,  he  observes  :  "  One 
consideration  is  enoiigh  to  make  me  assent  to  his  and 
your  judgment  concerning  the  holy  sacrament ;  which  is, 
that  we  cannot  allow  Christ's  human  nature  to  be  present 
in  it,  without  allowing  either  con-  or  tran-substantiation. 
But  that  his  divinity  is  so  united  to  us  then,  as  he  never 
is  but  to  worthy  receivers,  I  firmly  believe ;  though  the 
manner  of  that  union  is  utterly  a  mystery  to  me. 
•  Whitehead. 


•20 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


"That  none  but  worthy  receivers  should  find  this  effect 
is  not  strange  to  me,  when  I  observe,  how  small  effect 
many  means  of  improvement  have  upon  an  unprepared 
mind.  Mr.  Morgan  and  my  brother  were  affected,  as 
they  ought,  by  the  observations  you  made  on  that  glori- 
ous subject  :  but  though  my  understanding  approved 
what  was  excellent,  yet  my  heart  did. not  feel  it.  WTiy 
was  this,  but  because  it  was  pre-engaged  by  those  affec- 
tions with  which  wisdom  will  not  dwell  ?  Because  the 
animal  mind  cannot  relish  those  truths  which  are  spirit- 
ually discerned.  Yet  I  have  those  writings  which  the 
good  Spirit  gave  to  that  end  !  I  have  many  of  those 
which  he  hath  since  assisted  his  servants  to  give  us ;  I 
have  retirement  to  apply  these  to  my  own  soul  daily  ;  I 
have  means  both  of  public  and  private  prayer ;  and  above 
all,  of  partaking  in  that  sacrament  once  a  week.  What 
shall  I  do  to  make  all  these  blessings  effectual  ?  to 
gain  from  them  that  mind  which  was  also  in  Christ 
Jesus  ? 

"  To  all  who  give  signs  of  their  not  being  strangers  to 
it,  I  propose  this  question, — and  why  not  to  you  rather 
than  any? — Shall  I  quite  break  off  my  pursuit  of  all 
learning,  but  what  immediately  tends  to  practice  7  I  once 
desired  to  make  a  fair  show  in  languages  and  philosophy ; 
but  it  is  past ;  there  is  a  more  excellent  way ;  and  if  I 
cannot  attain  to  any  progress  in  the  one,  without  throw- 
ing up  all  thoughts  of  the  other,  why,  fare  it  well !  yet  a 
little  while,  and  we  shall  all  be  equal  in  knowledge,  if  we 
are  in  virtue. 

"  You  say,  you  have  renounced  the  world.  And  what 
have  I  been  doing  all  this  time  ?  What  have  I  done  ever 
since  I  was  born  ?  Wliy,  I  have  been  plunging  myself 
into  it  more  and  more.  It  is  enough :  awake  thou  that 
sleepest.  Is  there  not  one  Lord,  one  Spirit,  one  hope  of 
our  calling?  one  way  of  attaining  that  hope?  Then  I 
am  to  renounce  the  world  as  well  as  you.  That  is  the 
very  thing  I  want  to  do :  to  draw  off  my  affections  from 
this  world,  and  fix  them  on  a  better.  But  how?  What 
is  the  surest  and  the  shortest  way  ?  Is  it  not  to  be  hum- 
ble ?  Surely  this  is  a  large  step  in  the  way.  But  the 
question  recursj  How  am  I  to  do  this  ?   To  own  the  ne- 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


21 


cessity  of  it,  is  not  to  be  humble.  In  many  things  you 
have  interceded  for  me  and  prevailed.  Who  knows  but 
in  this,  too,  you  may  be  successful  1  If  you  can  spare 
me  only  that  little  part  of  Thursday  evening  which  you 
formerly  bestowed  upon  me  in  another  manner,  I  doubt 
not  but  it  would  be  as  useful  now,  for  correcting  my 
heart,  as  it  was  then  for  forming  my  judgment. 

"  When  I  observe  how  fast  life  flies  away,  and  how  slow 
improvement  comes,  I  think  one  can  never  be  too  much 
afraid  of  dying  before  one  has  learned  to  live.  I  mean, 
even  in  the  course  of  nature.  For  were  I  sure  that  '  the 
silver  cord  should  not  be  violently  loosed ; '  that  '  the 
wheel'  should  not  be  '  broken  at  the  cistern,'  till  it  was 
quite  worn  away  by  its  own  motion ;  yet  what  a  time 
would  this  give  me  for  such  a  work !  a  moment,  to  trans- 
act the  business  of  eternity  !  What  are  forty  years  in 
comparison  of  this  1  So  that  were  I  sure,  wiiat  never 
man  yet  was  sure  of,  how  little  would  it  alter  the  case  ? 
How  justly  still  might  I  cry  out, 

'  Downward  I  hasten  to  niy  destined  place  ; 
There  none  obtain  thy  aid,  none  sing  thy  praise ! 
Soon  shall  I  lie  in  death's  deep  ocean  drowned  ; 
Is  mercy  there,  is  sweet  forgiveness  found  1 
O  save  me  yet,  while  on  the  brink  I  stand ; 
Rebuke  these  storms,  and  set  me  safe  on  land. 
O  make  my  longings  and  thy  mercy  sure ! 
Thou  art  the  God  of  power."  "* 

It  was  not,  therefore,  as  it  has  been  hastily  stated,  that 
he  first  learned  from  the  Moravians  that  he  was  not  a  true 
Christian.  He  had,  at  Oxford,  a  most  painful  conviction 
that  he  was  far  below  the  evangelical  standard.  He  had 
then,  as  this  letter  sufficiently  shows,  a  large  measure  of 
"  the  spirit  of  bondage  unto  fear ;"  and  that  after  which 
his  perplexed  heart  panted,  was  the  "  Spirit  of  adoption," 
by  which  he  might  "  cry,  Abba,  Father." 

During  the  summer  of  this  year,  1732,  Mr.  Wesley 
visited  London,  where  he  formed  an  acquaintance  with 
several  respectable  and  pious  persons.  He  also  made  two 
journeys  to  Epworth.  The  latter  of  these  was  in  order 
to  meet  the  whole  family,  which  had  assembled,  upon  the 

*  Whitehead's  Life, 
3* 


22 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


father's  request,  once  more  before  their  final  separation 
by  deatli.  These  and  other  journeys  he  performed  on 
foot,  partly,  no  doubt,  to  avoid  what  he  considered  need- 
less expense,  that  he  might,  according  to  his  rule,  have 
the  more  to  distribute  in  charity ;  and  partly  to  accustom 
himself  to  fatigue  and  hardship.  "  In  these  excursions, 
he  constantly  preached  on  the  Lord's  day;  so  that  he 
might  now  be  called,  in  some  degreee,  an  itinerant  preach- 
er." In  the  following  year,  he  agam  visited  Epworth, 
Manchester,  and  some  other  places ;  but  his  occasional 
absence  had  a  bad  effect  upon  the  still  persecuted  society 
at  Oxford,  whose  members  shrunk  from  the  storm,  and 
toolc  the  opportunity  of  his  being  away  to  shake  off  the 
strictness  of  the  rules.  The  five  and  twenty  communi- 
cants at  St.  Mary's,  he  informs  his  father,  had  shrunk  to 
five.  Still  his  courage  was  unshaken,  and  he  exerted  him- 
self the  more,  upon  his  return,  to  repair  the  loss.  To- 
wards the  end  of  the  year,  his  exertions  of  mind  and  bo- 
dy, with  an  excess  of  abstemiousness,  greatly  affected  his 
health,  and  induced  spitting  of  blood.  His  state  was 
such  as  greatly  to  alarm  his  friends ;  but  the  vigour  of 
his  constitution  triumphed  ;  and  this  attack  of  disease 
served  to  impress  him  the  more  deeply  with  eternal  things, 
and  to  give  renewed  ardour  to  his  endeavours  after  uni- 
versal holiness,  and  to  his  plans  for  the  religious  benefit 
of  his  fellow-creatures. 

A  considerable  trial  to  his  feelings  now  awaited  him. 
The  declining  age  of  his  father,  who  anxiously  desired  to 
provif'e  for  the  special  wants  of  his  parishioners  in  a 
suitable  manner,  joined  with  the  wishes  of  the  people  of 
Epworth,  and  the  concerns  of  the  family  for  which  no 
provision,  it  seems,  had  been  made,  induced  him  to  write 
to  his  son,  to  make  interest  for  the  next  presentation  to 
the  living.  Mr.  Wesley,  from  his  reluctance  to  leave  Ox- 
ford, where  he  thought  he  should  be  far  more  useful,  and 
where,  according  to  his  own  convictions,  he  was  placed 
in  circumstances  more  conducive  to  his  spiritual  improve- 
ment, refused  the  proposal ;  and  the  most  urgent  letters 
of  the  different  branches  of  the  family  were  insufl?cient 
to  bend  his  resolution.  His  father  wrote  him  a  pathetic 
letter,  in  which  every  consideration  was  urged  which  might 


LIFE  OP  WESLEV. 


23 


answer  his  objections,  or  move  his  feelings.  His  brother 
Samuel  addressed  him  in  a  sterner  mood,  m-ging  that  he 
was  not  at  liberty  to  resolve  against  undertaking  a  cure 
of  souls,  to  which  he  was  solemnly  pledged  by  his  ordi- 
nation; and  ridiculed  his  notion  that  he  could  not,  so 
safely  to  himself,  or  so  usefully  to  others,  take  the  charge 
of  a  parish  priest,  as  remain  at  Oxford.  To  all  this  he 
reiterates,  that  his  own  holiness  and  usefulness  could  be 
promoted  nowhere  so  effectually  as  in  his  present  station ; 
that  his  retirement,  his  friends,  and  other  advantages  were 
essential  to  his  improvement;  that  he  was  inadequate  to 
the  charge  of  two  thousand  parishioners ;  and  that  he 
did  not  consider  his  ordination  vows  in  the  same  light  as 
his  brother.  On  the  last  point,  indeed,  he  was  supported 
by  the  opinion  of  the  bishop  who  ordained  him,  and  whom 
he  consulted  on  the  question.  These  and  other  topics 
run  through  the  correspondence,  which,  tliough  it  is  not 
necessary  to  give  entire,  affords  considerable  insight  into 
the  state  of  Mr.  Wesley's  mind.  His  conduct  in  this 
matter  has  been  criticised  as  unfeeling,  without  consider- 
ing that  the  kindness  of  his  general  character  is  a  suffi- 
cient pledge,  that  the  refusal  of  the  urgent  request  of  a 
venerable  father,  and  a  beloved  mother  whose  widowhood 
would  be  unprovided  for,  must  have  been  to  him  suffi- 
ciently painful.  Dr.  Southey  thinks  the  correspondence 
not  "  creditable  to  his  judgment;"*  but  it  would  be  hard 
to  prove  that  the  leading  consideration  which  influenced 
him,  that  he  was  more  usefully  employed  in  doing  good  at 
the  very  "  fountain"  from  which  the  nation  was  to  be  so 
largely  supplied  with  its  clergy,  than  as  a  country  parish 
priest,  was  not  a  very  obvious  truth.  This  conclusion, 
true  or  false,  was  at  least  a  very  plausible  one,  and  as 
such  concerned  his  conscience ;  and  his  disregard  of  his 
own  temporal  advantage,  which  certainly  lay  on  the  side 
of  the  Ep worth  rectory,  and  his  merging  all  considera- 
tion of  the  interests  of  the  family  in  the  higher  question 
of  what  he  regarded  as  a  duty,  might  not  appear  instan- 
ces of  "good  judgment"  to  worldly  minds,  and  yet  be  so 
in  reality.  His  leading  reason,  dra\vn  from  his  greater 
usefulness  at  Oxford,  being  strong  in  itself,  that  be,  with 
*  Life  of  Wesley. 


24 


LIFE  OP  WE3LEV. 


his  wonted  decision  of  character,  should  stand  firmly  upon 
it,  Avill  create  no  surprise ;  but  that  some  of  his  other  rea- 
sons are  less  weighty  may  be  granted.  They  show  that 
he  had  more  confidence  in  a  certain  class  of  means,  to  se- 
cure his  religious  safety,  than  in  the  grace  of  God.  This 
was  the  natural  effect  of  those  notions  of  tlie  efficacy  of 
retirement,  and  self-denial,  and  "  the  wisdom  of  flight" 
from  danger,  which  he  had  learned  from  Bishop  Taylor; 
whilst  the  views  he  entertained  of  the  necessity  of  exer- 
cising a  minute  personal  superintendence  over  every  indi- 
vidual committed  to  his  charge,  as  being  equally  necessa- 
ry to  his  own  good  conscience,  and  to  their  salvation,  led 
him  to  regard  a  parish,  containing  two  thousand  souls,  as 
too  formidable  and  fearful  an  undertaking.  His  religious 
judgment  was  indeed  as  yet  immature  and  perplexed  ;  but 
in  reasoning  from  his  own  principles,  his  natural  judg- 
ment showed  its  usual  strength  in  the  conclusions  to 
which  it  conducted  him.  Whatever  Aveakness  there  might 
be  in  the  case  was  the  result  of  the  imperfect  stale  of  his 
religious  experience,  and  of  that  dependance  upon  his  own 
plans  of  attaining  spirituality,  to  which  it  gave  rise;  but 
connecting  him  with  that  great  work  which  he  was  de- 
signed afterwards  to  effect,  we  must  shut  out  also  the  doc- 
trine of  Providence,  if  we  do  not  see  a  higher  hand  than 
that  of  man  in  this  determination ;  a  hand  which  is  not 
the  less  certainly  employed,  when  it  works  its  ends  through 
the  secret  volitions,  aversions,  inclinations,  and  even  pre- 
judices of  the  human  heart,  than  when  it  more  sensibly 
and  immediately  interposes  to  hasten  or  retard  our  purpo- 
ses. Mr.  Wesley's  father  died  in  April,  1735.  He  had 
been  manifestly  ripening  for  his  change ;  and  in  his  last 
moments  had  the  consolation  of  the  presence  of  his  two 
sons,  John  and  Charles,  "  He  had  no  fear  of  death ;  and 
the  peace  of  God  which  he  enjoyed  appeared  sometimes 
to  suspend  his  bodily  sufferings,  and,  when  tliey  recurred, 
to  sustain  his  mind  above  them.  When,  as  nature  seem- 
ed spent,  and  his  speech  was  failing,  his  son  John  asked 
him  whether  he  was  not  near  heaven,  he  answered,  'Yes, 
I  am,'  distinctly,  and  with  a  voice  of  hope  and  joy.  Af- 
ter John  had  used  the  commendatory  prayer,  he  said, 
*  Now  you  have  done  all :'  these  were  his  last  words,  and 


LIFE  or  WESLEY. 


25 


he  passed  away  so  peacefully  and  insensibly,  that  his 
children  continued  over  him  a  considerable  time  in  doubt 
whether  or  not  the  spirit  was  departed.  Mrs.  Wesley,  who 
for  several  days,  whenever  she  entered  his  chamber,  had 
been  carried  out  of  it  in  a  fit,  recovered  her  fortitude  now, 
and  said  her  prayers  were  heard,  for  God  had  granted 
him  an  easy  death,  and  had  strengthened  her  to  bear  it."  * 
Brighter  views  of  the  doctrine  of  faith  had  opened  upon 
his  mind,  during  his  sickness,  and  shed  their  influence 
upon  his  last  hours.  This  his  sons  afterwards  more 
clearly  understood  than  at  the  timcj 

About  the  middle  of  this  year,  the  trustees  of  the  new 
colony  of  Georgia,  who  wished  to  send  out  clergymen 
both  to  administer  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  colonists, 
and  also  to  attempt  the  conversion  of  the  Indians,  directed 
their  attention  to  Mr.  John  Wesley,  and  some  of  his  friends 
at  Oxford,  as  peculiarly  qualified,  both  by  zeal  and  piety, 
and  their  habits  of  self-denial,  for  this  service.  After  some 
delay,  and  consultation  with  his  family,  he  accepted  the 
offer;  and  thus,  though  Epworth  could  not  draw  him  from 
Oxford,  an  enterprise  of  a  missionary  character,  and  pre- 
senting no  temptations  to  ease  and  sloth,  such  as  he  feared 
in  a  parish  at  home,  overcame  his  scruples.  This  itself 
is  in  proof  that  he  had  not  resolved  to  remain  in  Oxford, 
in  preference  to  accepting  the  living  of  Epworth,  from 

*  Southey's  Life. 

t  In  some  of  the  biographical  notices  which  have  been  published 
of  this  venerable  man,  he  is  represented  as  of  a  harsh  and  stern  cha- 
racter. On  this  point  the  late  Miss  Wesley  observes,  in  a  MS.  letter 
before  me,  "  I  never  understood  this  from  any  of  his  children,  who 
idolized  liis  memory,  and  spoke  of  his  kindness.  He  certainly  never 
forceil  his  daughter  to  marry  Wright,  as  it  has  been  suggested."  In 
the  same  letter,  Miss  Wesley  also  corrects  the  current  anecdote  res- 
pecting the  Epworth  clerk  and  the  rector's  wig,  which,  though 
laughable  enough,  imphcates  Mr.  Wesley  in  an  irreverent  act,  in  the 
house  of  Grod,  of  which  he  was  not  capable.  The  clerk  did  appear 
one  Sunday,  in  church,  in  the  ill-befitting,  cast-off  wig  of  his  master ; 
and,  to  the  disturbance  of  the  gravity  of  the  congregation,  gave  out 
the  psalm, 

"  Like  to  an  owl  in  ivy  bush, 
That  fearsome  thing  am  I." 
But  Mr.  Wesley  had  no  hand  in  selecting  the  psalm,  which  appears 
to  have  been  purely  accidental. 


26 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


selfish  motives.  In  the  question  of  usefuhiess,  the  balance 
before  inclined  to  Oxford;  and  noAv  that  he  thought  a 
greater  field  for  doing  good  opened  in  America,  he  yielded 
to  that  consideration.  This  mission  was  accompanied  also 
with  tlie  certainty  of  great  hardsliips  and  sufferings,  which, 
according  to  his  then  defective,  but  most  sincere  views, 
were  necessary  to  his  perfection.  His  residence  at  Oxford 
now  terminated,  and  this  portion  of  his  life  may  be  pro- 
perly concluded  with  some  passages  of  a  letter  written  by 
Mr.  Gambold,  a  man  of  fine  genius,  as  some  of  his  poems 
show,  and  of  eminent  holiness ;  who,  some  years  after- 
wards, left  the  Church  of  England,  and  became  a  Mora- 
vian bishop.  The  letter  was  addressed  to  one  of  Mr. 
Wesley's  relations,  and  contains  a  lively  description  of  the 
character  and  proceedings  of  a  friend,  whom  he  did  not 
then  expect  to  see  again  on  earth: — 

"  About  the  ftiiddle  of  March,  1730, 1  became  acquaint- 
ed with  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  of  Christ  Church.  After 
some  time,  he  introduced  me  to  his  brother  John,  of  Lin- 
coln college.  '  For  he  is  somewhat  older,'  said  he,  '  than 
I  am,  and  can  resolve  your  doubts  belter.  I  never  observ- 
ed any  person  have  a  more  real  deference  for  another  than 
he  had  for  his  brother ;  which  is  the  more  remarkable, 
because  such  near  relations,  being  equals  by  birth,  and 
conscious  to  each  other  of  all  the  little  familiar  passages 
of  their  lives,  commonly  staml  too  close  to  see  the  groimd 
there  may  be  for  such  submission.  Indeed  he  followed 
his  brother  entirely ;  could  I  describe  one  of  them,  I  should 
describe  both.  I  shall  therefore  say  no  more  of  Charles, 
but  that  he  was  a  man  formed  for  ft-iendship,  who,  by  his 
cheerfulness  and  vivacity,  would  refresh  his  friend's  heart  j 
with  attentive  consideration,  would  enter  into,  and  settle 
all  his  concerns  as  far  as  he  was  able  ;  he  would  do  any 
thing  for  him,  great  or  small;  and,  by  a  habit  of  mutual 
openness  and  freedom,  would  leave  no  room  for  misun- 
derstanding. 

"  The  Wesleys  were  already  talked  of  for  some  reli- 
gious practices,  wliich  were  first  occasioned  by  Mr.  Mor- 
gan, of  Christ  church.  From  Uiese  combined  friends  began 
a  little  society.  Mr.  John  Wesley  was  the  chief  manager, 
for  which  he  was  verv  fit;  for  he  had  not  only  more 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


27 


learning  and  experience  than  the  rest,  but  he  was  blessed 
with  such  activity  as  to  be  always  gaining  ground,  and 
such  steadiness  that  he  lost  none.  What  proposals  he 
made  to  any  were  sure  to  alarm  them,  because  he  was  so 
much  in  earnest ;  nor  could  they  afterwards  slight  them, 
because  they  saw  him  always  the  same.  What  supported 
this  uniform  vigour  was  the  care  he  took  to  consider  well 
every  affair  before  he  engaged  in  it,  making  all  his  deci- 
sions in  the  fear  of  God,  without  passion,  humour,  or  self- 
coniidenee.  For  though  he  had  naturally  a  very  clear 
apprehension,  yet  his  exact  prudence  depended  more  on 
his  humility  and  singleness  of  heart.  He  had,  I  think, 
something  of  authority  in  his  countenance,  yet  he  never 
assumed  any  thing  to  himself  above  his  companions;  any 
of  them  might  speak  their  mind,  and  their  words  were  as 
strictly  regarded  by  him  as  his  words  were  by  them. 

"  Their  undertaking  included  these  several  particulars '. 
to  converse  with  young  students ;  to  visit  the  prisons ;  to 
instruct  some  poor  families ;  to  take  care  of  a  school,  and 
a  parish  workhouse.  They  took  great  pains  with  the 
younger  members  of  the  university,  to  rescue  them  from 
bad  company,  and  encourage  them  in  a  sober,  studious 
life.  They  woidd  get  them  to  breakfast,  and  over  a  dish 
of  tea  endeavour  to  fasten  some  good  hint  upon  them. 
They  would  bring  them  acquainted  with  other  well-dis- 
posed young  men,  give  them  assistance  in  the  difficult 
parts  of  their  learning,  and  watch  over  them  with  the 
greatest  tenderness. 

"  Some  or  other  of  them  went  to  the  Castle  every  day, 
and  another  most  commonly  to  Bocardo.  Whoever  went 
to  the  Castle  was  to  read  in  the  chapel  to  as  many  pri- 
soners as  would  attend,  and  to  talk  apart  to  the  man  or 
men  Avhom  he  had  taken  particularly  in  charge.  When  a 
new  prisoner  came,  their  conversation  with  him  for  four 
or  five  times  was  close  and  searching.  If  any  one  was 
under  sentence  of  death,  or  appeared  to  have  some  inten- 
tions of  a  new  life,  they  came  every  day  to  his  assistance, 
and  partook  in  the  conflict  and  suspense  of  those  who 
should  now  be  found  able,  or  not  able,  to  lay  hold  on  sal- 
vation. In  order  to  release  those  who  were  confined  for 
small  debts,  and  to  purchase  books  and  other  necessaries, 


28 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


they  raised  a  little  fund,  to  which  many  of  their  acquaint- 
ance contributed  quarterly.  They  had  prayers  at  the 
Castle  most  \'  'ednesdays  and  Fridays,  a  sermon  on  Sunday, 
and  the  sacrament  once  a  month. 

"  When  tii^y  undertook  any  poor  family,  they  saw 
them  at  least  once  a  week ;  sometimes  gave  them  money, 
admonished  them  of  their  vices,  read  to  them,  and  exa- 
mined their  children.  The  school  was,  I  think,  of  Mr. 
Wesley's  own  setting  up ;  however,  he  paid  the  mistress, 
and  clothed  some,  if  not  all  the  children.  Wlien  they 
went  thither,  they  inquired  how  each  child  behaved,  saw 
their  work,  heard  them  read  and  say  their  prayers,  or 
catechism,  and  explained  part  of  it.  In  the  same  manner 
they  taught  the  children  in  the  workhouse,  and  read  to 
the  old  people  as  they  did  to  the  prisoners. 

"  They  seldom  took  any  notice  of  the  accusations 
brought  against  them  for  their  charitable  employments  ; 
but  if  they  did  make  any  reply,  it  was  commonly  such  a 
plain  and  simple  one,  as  if  there  was  nothing  more  in  the 
case,  but  that  they  had  just  heard  such  doctrines  of  their 
Saviour,  and  had  believed,  and  done  accordingly. 

"  I  could  say  a  great  deal  of  his  private  piety,  how  it 
was  nourished  by  a  continual  recourse  to  God,  and  pre- 
served by  a  strict  watchfulness  in  beating  down  pride,  and 
reducing  the  craftiness  and  impetuosity  of  nature  to  a 
child-like  simplicity,  and  a  good  degree  crowned  with 
divine  love,  and  victory  over  the  whole  set  of  earthly  pas- 
sions. He  thought  prayer  to  be  more  his  business  than 
any  thing  else  ;  and  I  have  seen  him  come  out  of  his 
closet  with  a  serenity  of  countenance  that  was  next  to 
shining ;  it  discovered  what  he  had  been  doing,  and  gave 
me  double  hope  of  receiving  wise  directions,  in  the  matter 
about  which  I  came  to  consult  him.  In  all  his  motions 
he  attended  to  the  will  of  God.  He  had  neither  the  pre- 
sumption nor  the  leisure  to  anticipate  things  whose 
season  was  not  now ;  and  would  show  some  uneasiness 
whenever  any  of  us,  by  impertinent  speculations,  were 
shifting  off  the  appointed  improvement  of  the  present 
minute. 

"  Because  he  required  such  a  regulation  of  our  studies 
as  might  devote  them  all  to  God,  he  has  been  accused  as 


UFE  OF  WESLEY. 


29 


one  that  discouraged  learning.  Far  from  that;  for  the 
first  thing  he  struck  at,  in  j-oung  men,  was  that  indolence 
which  will  not  submit  to  close  thinking.  He  earnestly 
recommended  to  them  a  method  and  order  in  all  their 
actions. 

"  If  any  one  could  have  provoked  him,  I  should ;  for  I 
was  very  slow  in  coming  into  their  measures,  and  very 
remiss  in  doing  my  part.  I  frequently  contradicted  his 
assertions ;  or,  which  is  much  the  same,  distinguished 
upon  them.  I  hardly  ever  submitted  to  his  advice  at  the 
time  he  gave  it,  though  I  relented  afterwards.  He^s  now 
gone  to  Georgia  as  a  missionary,  where  there  is  ignorance 
that  aspires  after  divine  wisdom,  but  no  false  learning  that 
is  got  above  it.  He  is,  I  confess,  still  living;  and  I  know 
that  an  advantageous  character  is  more  decently  bestowed 
on  the  deceased.  But,  besides  that  his  condition  is  very 
like  that  of  the  dead,  being  unconcerned  in  all  wc  say,  I 
am  not  making  any  attempt  on  the  opinion  of  the  public, 
but  only  studying  a  private  edification.  A  family  picture 
of  him  his  relations  may  be  allowed  to  keep  by  them. 
And  this  is  the  idea  of  Rlr.  Wesley,  which  I  cherish  for 
the  service  of  my  own  soul,  and  which  I  take  the  liberty 
likewise  to  deposit  with  you."* 

This  letter  is  honourable  to  Mr.  Gambold's  friend- 
ship :  but  he  was  not  himself,  at  that  time,  of  mature 
spiritual  discernment,  nor  had  Mr.  Wesley  opened  the 
state  of  his  heart  to  him  with  the  freedom  which  we 
have  seen  in  his  letters  to  his  mother.  The  external  pic- 
ture of  the  man  is  exact ;  but  he  was  not  inwardly  that 
perfect  Christian  which  Mr.  Gambold  describes,  nor  had 
he  that  abiding  "  interior  peace."  He  was  struggling 
with  inward  corruptions,  which  made  him  still  cry,  "  O 
wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the 
body  of  this  death  ?"  And  he  as  yet  put  mortification, 
retirement,  and  contempt  of  the  Avorld,  too  much  in  the 
place  of  that  divine  atonement,  the  virtue  of  which,  when 
received  by  simple  faith,  at  once  removes  the  sense  of 
guilt,  cheers  the  spirit  by  a  peaceful  sense  of  acceptance 
through  the  merits  of  Christ,  and  renews  the  whole  heart 
after  the  image  of  God,  He  was  indeed  attempting  to 
*  Whiteliead'e  Life. 

4 


30 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


work  out  "  his  own  salvation  M'ith  fear  and  trembling ;" 

but  not  as  knowing  tiiat  "  it  is  God  that  worketii  in  us  to 
will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure."  He  had  not,  in 
this  respect,  learned  "  to  be  nothing,"  that  he  might  "pos- 
sess all  things." 


CHAPTER  HI. 

Mr. •Wesley  now  prepared  for  Georgia,  the  place 
where,  as  he  afterwards  said,  "  God  humbled  me,  and 
proved  me,  and  showed  me  what  was  in  my  heart."  But 
he  was  not  suffered  to  depart  without  remonstrances  from 
friends,  which  he  answered  calmly  and  at  length,  and  the 
scoffs  of  the  profane,  to  which  he  made  but  brief  reply. 
"What  is  this,  Sir?"  said  one  of  the  latter  class  to  him; 
"are  you  turned  Quixote  too?  Will  nothing  serve  you, 
but  to  encounter  windmills?"  To  which  he  replied, 
"  Sir,  if  the  Bible  be  not  true,  I  am  as  very  a  fool  and 
madman  as  you  can  conceive ;  but  if  it  be  of  God,  I  am 
sober-minded." 

Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  although  in  opposition  to  the 
opinion  of  his  brother  Samuel,  agreed  to  accompany  him 
to  Georgia,  and  received  holy  orders.  They  were  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Ingham,  of  Queen's  College,  and  Mr.  De- 
lamotte.  That  Mr.  Wesley  considered  the  sacrifices  and 
hardships  of  their  mission  in  the  light  of  means  of  reli- 
gious edification  to  themselves,  as  well  as  the-  means  of 
doing  good  to  others,  is  plain  from  his  own  account: 
"  Our  end  in  leaving  our  native  country  was  not  to  avoid 
want ;  God  had  given  \is  plenty  of  temporal  blessings ; 
nor  to  gain  the  dung  and  dross  of  riches  and  honour; 
but  singly  tliis,  to  save  our  souls,  to  live  wholly  to  the 
glory  of  God."  These  observations  are  sufficiently  indi- 
cative of  that  dependance  upon  a  mortified  course  of  life, 
and  that  seclusion  from  the  temptations  of  the  world, 
which  he  then  thought  essential  to  religious  safety. 

Georgia  is  now  a  flourishing  state,  and  the  number  of 
Methodist  societies  in  it  very  considerable :  a  result  not 
then  certainly  contemplated  by  the  Wesleys,  who  labour- 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


81 


ed  there  with  little  success,  and  quitted  it  almost  in  des- 
pair. The  first  settlers  from  England  embarked  in  1732, 
witli  Mr.  James  Oglethorpe  al  llieir  head,  vvlio  was  also 
one  of  the  trustees  under  the  charter.  This  gentleman 
founded  Savannah,  and  concluded  a  treaty  Avilh  the  Creek 
Indians.  Wars  villi  both  Spaniards  and  Indians,  how- 
ever, subsequently  arose,  as  well  as  domestic  feuds;  and  in 
1752  the  trustees  surrendered  their  charter  to  the  king, 
and  it  was  made  a  royal  government.  It  was,  therefore, 
hi  the  infancy  of  ihc.colouy  that  the  Wesleys  commenced 
their  labours. 

That  they  should  experience  trouble,  vexation,  and 
disappointment,  was  the  natural  result  both  of  the  circum- 
stances ill  which  they  were  placed,  and  their  own  reli- 
gious habits  and  views.  A  small  colony,  and  especially 
in  its  infancy,  is  usually  a  focus  of  faction,  discontent,  and 
censoriousness.  The  colonists  are  often  disappointed,  un- 
easy in  their  circumstances,  frustrated  in  their  hopes, 
and  impatient  of  authority.  This  was  the  ca§e  in  Geor- 
gia :  and  althougli  Mr.  Oglethorpe  upon  the  whole  was  a 
worthy  governor,  he  was  subject  to  prejudices,  and  prone 
to  be  misled  by  designing  men.  He  certainly  did  not 
support  the  Wesleys  with  that  steadiness  and  uniformity 
which  were  due  to  them  ;*  and  on  the  other  hand  they 
were  not  faultless,  although  their  intentions  were  entirely 
upright.  They  had  high  notions  of  clerical  authority; 
and  their  pastoral  faithfulness  was  probably  rigid  and 
repulsive;  for  in  spite  of  the  excellence  of  their  own 
natural  temper,  an  austere  cast  had  been  given  to  their 
piety.  They  stood  firmly  on  little  things,  as  well  as 
great ;  and  held  the  reins  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  with 
a  tightness  unsuitable  to  infant  colonists  especially,  and 
•which  tended  to  provoke  resistance.  Their  integrity 
of  heart,  and  the  purity  of  their  intentions,  came  forth 
without  a  stain :  they  must  also  be  allowed  to  have 
proceeded  according  to  the  best  light  they  had ;  but  they 
knew  not  yet  "  the  love  of  Christ,"  nor  how  to  sway 

*  Oglethorpe's  good  opinion  of  the  brothers  was,  however,  shown 
by  his  anxiety  to  persuade  Charles  to  return  again  to  the  colony,  after 
he  had  visited  England  ;  and  by  the  marked  respect  and  even  reve- 
rence with  which  at  a  future  period  he  treated  John. 


32 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


men's  hearts  by  that  all-commanding  and  contro  ling  mo- 
tive; an4  they  aimed  at  making  men  (Christians,  in  the 
manner  fliey  sought  that  great  attaiiunent  themselves, — 
by  a  rigid  and  ascetic  discipline. 

On  their  passage,  an  exact  plan  for  the  employment  of 
time  was  arranged,  and  oliserved ;  but  the  voyage  is  most 
remarkable  for  bringing  Mr.  Wesley  acquainted  witli  the 
members  of  the  Moravian  church  ;  for,  among  the  settlers 
taken  out,  were  twenty-six  Germans  of  this  comnHmion. 
Mr.  Wesley  immediately  began  to  learn  German,  in 
order  to  converse  with  them ;  and  David  Nitchman,  the 
Moravian  bishop,  and  two  others,  received  lessons  in 
English.  On  the  passage  they  had  several  storms,  in 
which  Mr.  Wesley  felt  that  the  fear  of  death  had  not 
been  taken  away  from  him,  and  concluded  therefore  that 
he  was  not  fit  to  die ;  on  the  contrary,  he  greatly  ad- 
mired the  absence  of  all  slavish  dread  in  the  Germans. 
He  says,  "  I  had  long  before  observed  the  great  seri- 
ousness of  their  behaviour.  Of  their  humility  they  had 
given  a  continual  proof,  by  performing  those  servile 
offices  for  the  other  passengers  which  none  of  the  En- 
glish would  undertake  ;  for  which  they  desired  and  would 
receive  no  pay;. saying  it  was  'good  for  their  proud 
hearts,  and  their  loving  Saviour  had  done  more  for  them.' 
And  every  day  had  given  them  occasion  of  showing  a 
meekness,  which  no  injury  could  move.  If  they  were 
pushed,  struck,  or  thrown  down,  they  rose  again  and 
went  away;  but  no  complaint  was  found  in  their  mouth. 
There  was  now  an  opportunity  of  trying  whether  they 
were  delivered  from  the  spirit  of  fear,  as  well  as  from 
that  of  pride,  anger,  and  revenge.  In  the  midst  of  the 
psahn  wherewith  their  service  began,  the  sea  broke  over, 
split  the  main-sail  in  pieces,  covered  the  ship,  and  poured 
in  between  the  decks,  as  if  the  great  deep  had  already 
swallowed  us  up.  A  terrible  screaming  began  among  the 
English.  The  Germans  calmly  sung  on.  I  asked  one 
of  them  afterwards,  'Was  you  not  afraid?'  He  answered, 
'I  fhauk  God,  No.'  I  asked,  'But  were  not  your  women 
and  children  afraid?'  He  replied  mildly,  'No;  our  women 
aad  chiidreu  are  not  afraid  to  die.'  "* 
♦  Journal. 


LIPB  OP  WESLEY. 


33 


Thus  he  had  the  first  glimpse  of  a  religions  experience 
which  keeps  the  mind  at  peace  in  all  circumstances,  and 
vanquishes  that  feeling  wliich  a  formal  and  defective  reli- 
gion may  lull  to  temporary  sleep,  but  cannot  eradicate, — 
"  the  fear  of  death." 

They  landed  on  the  6th  of  February,  1736,  on  a  small 
uninhabited  island ;  from  whence  Mr.  Oglethorpe  pro- 
ceeded to  Savannah,  and  returned  the  next  day,  bringing 
with  him  Mr.  Spangenberg,  one  of  the  Moravian  pastors, 
already  settled  there. 

"  I  soon  found,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  what  spirit  he  was 
of;  and  asked  his  advice  with  regard  to  my  own  conduct. 
He  said,  '  My  brother,  I  must  first  ask  you  one  or  two 
questions.  Have  you  tlie  witness  within  yourself  ?  Does 
the  Spirit  of  God  bear  witness  witli  your  spirit,  that  you 
are  the  child  of  God  V  I  was  surprised,  and  knew  not 
what  to  answer.  He  observed  it,  and  asked,  '  Do  you 
know  Jesus  Christ  V  I  paused  and  said,  I  know  he  is 
the  Saviour  of  the  world.  '  True  replied  he  ;  '  but  do 
you  know  he  has  saved  you  V  I  answered,  I  hope  he 
has  died  to  save  me.  He  only  added,  '  Do  you  know 
yourself?'  I  said,  I  do.  But  I  fear  they  were  vain 
words.* 

Mr.  Charles  Wesley  took  charge  of  Frederica,  and  Mr. 
John  of  Savannah,  where,  the  house  not  being  ready,  he 
took  up  his  residence  with  the  Germans,  with  whose  spi- 
rit and  conduct  he  became  still  more  favourably  impressed, 
and  whose  mode  of  proceeding  in  the  election  and  ordina- 
tion of  a  bisliop  carried  him  back  he  says  to  those  primi- 
tive times  "  where  form  and  state  were  not ;  but  Paul  the 
tent-maker,  and  Peter  the  fisherman,  presided  ;  yet  with 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  power." 

Mr.  Wesley  had  not  been  long  at  Savannah  before  he 
heard  from  Charles  of  his  troubles  anl  opposition  at 
Frederica.  His  presence  among  the  licentious  colonists, 
and  the  frequent  reproofs  he  administered,  made  him  an 
object  of  great  hatred,  and  "  plots  were  formed  either  to 
ruin  him  in  the  opinion  of  Oglethorpe,  or  to  take  him 
off  by  violence."!  Oglethorpe  was  for  a  time  successfully 
practised  upon,  treated  him  with  coldness,  and  left  hixa 
♦  Journal.  t  Whitehead's  Life. 

4* 


34 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


to  endure  the  greatest  privations.  He  lay  upon  the 
ground  in  the  corner  of  a  hut,  and  was  denied  the  kixury 
of  a  few  boards  for  a  bed.  He  was  out  of  favour  with 
the  governor ;  even  the  servants  on  that  account  insult- 
ed him  ;  and,  worn  out  with  vexation  and  hardships,  he 
fell  into  a  dangerous  fever.  In  this  state  he  was  visited 
by  his  brother  John,  who  prevailed  upon  him  to  break  a 
resolution  which  "  honour  and  indignation"  had  induced 
him  to  form,  of  "  starving  rather  than  ask  for  necessaries." 
Soon  after  this,  Mr.  Oglethorpe  discovered  the  plots  of 
which  he  had  been  the  victim,  and  was  fully  reconciled 
to  him.  He  then  took  charge  of  Savannah,  whilst  John 
supplied  his  place  at  Frederica ;  and  in  July,  1736,  he 
was  sent  to  England,  charged  with  despatches  from  Mr. 
Oglethorpe  to  the  trustees  and  the  board  of  trade,  and 
in  December,  arrived  at  Deal ;  thus  terminating  a  service 
in  Avhich  he  had  preached  with  great  fidelity  and  zealj 
but  had  met  witli  very  unworthy  returns. 

Of  tlie  two  places.  Savannah  appears  to  have  been  more 
hopeful  than  Frederica ;  and  as  Mr.  John  Wesley  did  not 
find  the  door  open  for  preaching  to  the  Indians,  he  con- 
sulted with  his  companions,  in  what  manner  they  might 
be  most  useful  to  tlie  flock  at  Savannah.  It  was  agreed, 
1.  To  advise  tlie  more  serious  among  them,  to  form  them- 
selves into  a  little  society,  and  to  meet  once  or  twice  a 
week,  in  order  to  reprove,  instruct,  and  exliort  one  an- 
other. 2.  To  select  out  of  these  a  smaller  number  for  a 
more  intimate  union  with  each  other ;  which  might  be 
forwarded  partly  by  their  conversing  singly  with  each,  and 
inviting  them  all  together  to  Mr.  Wesley's  house  :  and  this 
accordingly  they  determined  to  do  every  Sunday  in  the 
afternoon.  "  Here,"  says  Dr.  Whitehead,  "  we  see  the  first 
rudiments  of  the  future  economy  of  classes  and  bands."* 

♦  There  was  however  nothing  new  in  this.  Mr.  Wesley  had 
doubtless  heard,  in  his  visits  to  Li  mlon,  of  the  religious  societies  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Woodward,  which  were  encouraged  by  the  more  seri- 
ous clergy,  and  held  weekly  private  meetings  for  religious  edification. 
It  is  prol^able  that  he  had  even  attended  such  meetings  in  the  metro 
polls.  Wherever  indeed  a  revival  of  serious  religion  has  taken  place, 
and  ministers  have  been  in  earnest  to  promote  it,  we  see  simileir 
means  adopted,  as  by  Baxter  at  Kidderminster,  during  his  eminently 
Buccessful  minietry  there. 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


35 


In  this  respect  he  pro'bably  learned  something  from 
the  Moravians,  and  the  whole  plan  fell  in  with  his  previous 
views  of  discipline  and  method.  The  character  of  his 
mind  was  eminently  practical ;  he  was  in  earnest,  and  he 
valued  things  just  as  they  appeared  to  be  adapted  to 
promote  the  edification  and  salvation  of  those  committed 
to  his  charge.  A  school  was  also  established ;  and  the 
children  regularly  catechised  by  Mr.  Wesley,  both  in  pri- 
vate and  in  the  church.  Evening  meetings  for  the  more 
serious  were  also  held  at  his  house ;  so  actively  did  he 
apply  himself  not  only  to  the  pviblic  services  of  the 
sanctuary,  but  to  every  kind  of  engagement  by  which  he 
might  make  "  full  proof  of  his  ministry."  The  religious 
state  of  his  own  mind,  however,  remained  much  the  same. 
He  saw  another  striking  instance  of  the  power  of  faith, 
in  the  peaceful  and  edifying  death  of  one  of  the  Moravi 
ans  ;  and  had  another  proof  that  he  himself  was  not  saved 
from  "  the  fear  which  hath  torment,"  in  a  severe  storm 
of  thunder  and  lightning.  Both  indicated  to  him  that 
he  had  not  attained  the  state  of  "  the  sons  of  God ;"  but 
his  views  were  still  perplexed  and  obscure.  From  a  con- 
versation which  he  had  with  some  Indians  who  had  visited 
Savajmah,  he  concluded  that  the  way  was  opened  for  him 
to  preach  among  the  Choctaws,  and  this  he  was  desirous 
of  attempting  ;  but  as  Savannah  would  have  been  Jeft 
without  a  minister,  the  governor  objected  ;  and  his  friends 
were  also  of  opinion,  that  he  could  not  then  be  spared 
from  the  colony. 

In  his  visits  to  Frederica  he  met  with  great  opposition 
and  much  illiberal  abuse  ;  in  Savannah  he  was,  however, 
rapidly  gaining  influence,  when  a  circumstance  occurred 
which  issued  in  his  departure  from  Georgia  altogether. 
He  had  formed  an  attachment  to  an  accomplished  young 
lady,  a  Miss  Hopkey,*  niece  to  the  wife  of  Mr.  Causton, 
the  chief  magistrate  of  Savannah,  which  she  appears  to 
have  returned,  or  at  least  encouraged.  The  biographers  of 
Mr.  Wesley,  Dr.  Whitehead  and  Mr.  Moore,  differ  as  to  the 
fact,  whether  this  connexion  was  broken  off  by  him,  or  by 
the  lady  herself  in  consequence  of  his  delays.  The  latter 
professes  to  have  received  the  whole  account  from  Mr, 

♦  Incorrectly  called  Miss  Causton  by  Mr.  Wesley's  biographers. 


86 


LIFE  OP  WESLEV. 


Wesley,  and  must  therefore  be  presumed  to  be  the  best 
authority.  From  his  statement  it  appears  that  Mr.  De- 
lamotte  suspected  the  sincerity  of  the  lady's  pretensions 
to  piety,  and  thought  his  friend  Mr.  Wesley,  whose 
confiding  and  unsuspecting  heart  prevented  him  at  all 
limes  from  being  a  severe  judge  of  others,  was  likely  to 
be  the  victim  of  artifices  which  he  had  not  the  skill  or 
the  inclination  to  discern.  His  remonstrances  led  Mr. 
Wesley  to  refer  the  question  of  his  marriage  with  Miss 
Hopkey  to  the  judgment  of  the  elders  of  the  Moravian 
church,  which  he  thought  he  was  at  liberty  to  do,  since 
the  acquaintance,  though  it  had  ripened  into  regard  and 
thoughts  of  marriage,  had  not,  it  seems,  proceeded  to  any 
thing  determinate.  The  Moravians  advised  him  to  proceed 
no  further  ;  and  his  conduct  towards  Miss  Hopkey  became 
cautious  and  distant,  very  naturally  to  her  mortification, 
and  perhaps  pain.  An  entry  in  his  journal  shows  that 
he  had  a  considerable  struggle  with  his  own  feelings, 
and  that  his  sense  of  duty  had  exacted  a  great  sacrifice 
from  his  heart.  The  lady  soon  afterwards  married  a  Mr. 
Williamson  ;  but  a  hostile  feeling  towards  him  had  been 
left  in  the  minds  of  her  friends,  which  the  gossiping  and 
censorious  habits  of  a  small  colony  -would  not  fail  to 
keep  alive.  TJiough  Mr.  Wesley  did  not  certainly  see  her 
married  to  another  with  perfect  philosophy,  it  was  not  in 
his  generous  nature  to  allow  his  former  affection  to  turn 
into  resentment,  which  was  the  fault  subsequently  charged 
upon  him ;  and  as  he  soon  saw  many  things  in  her  to 
reprove,  it  is  probable  that  he  thought  his  escape  a  fortu- 
nate one.  Perhaps,  considering  the  singularity  of  his 
habits  at  that  time,  it  was  well  for  the  lady  also  ;  which 
seems,  indeed,  jocosely  intimated  in  a  passage  of  a  letter 
of  his  brother  Samuel  to  him  on  the  occasion, — "  I  am 
sorry  you  are  disappointed  in  one  match,  because  you  are 
unlikely  to  find  another." 

An  opportunity  for  the  manifestation  of  the  secret 
prejudice  which  had  been  nourished  by  the  friends  of  the 
niece  of  Mrs.  Causton  was  afforded  in  about  five  months 
after  her  marriage.  Mr.  Wesley  adhered  to  the  rubric  of 
the  church  of  England  as  to  the  administration  of  the 
sacrament,  without  respect  of  persons,  and  with  a  rigid- 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


37 


ness  which  was  not  at  all  common.  He  repelled  those 
whom  he  thought  unworthy ;  and  when  any  one  had 
neglected  the  ordhiance,  he  required  him  to  signify  his 
name  the  day  before  he  intended  to  commimicate  again. 
Sometime  after  Mrs.  Williamson's  marriage,  he  discovered 
several  things  which  he  thought  blamable  in  her  conduct. 
These,  as  she  continued  to  communicate,  he  mentioned 
to  her,  and  she  in  return  became  angry.  For  reasons 
therefore,  which  he  stated  to  her  in  a  letter,  he  repelled 
her  from  the  communion.  This  letter  was  written  by  de- 
sire of  Mr.  Causton,  who  wished  to  have  his  reasons  for 
repelling  his  niece  in  writing: — 

"  At  Mr.  Causton's  request  I  write  once  more.  The 
rules  whereby  I  proceed  are  these :  '  So  many  as  intend  to 
partake  of  the  holy  communion  shall  signify  their  names 
to  the  curate,  at  least  some  time  the  day  before.'  This 
you  did  not  do. 

'"And  if  any  of  these — ^have  done  any  wrong  to  his 
neighbour  by  word  or  deed,  so  that  the  congregation  be 
thereby  offended,  the  curate  shall  advertise  him,  that  in 
anywise  he  presume  not  to  come  to  the  Lord's  table, 
until  he  hath  openly  declared  himself  to  have  truly  re- 
pented.' 

"  If  you  offer  yourself  at  the  Lord's  table  on  Sunday, 
I  will  advertise  you,  as  I  have  done  more  than  once, 
wherein  you  have  done  wrong:  and  when  you  have 
openly  declared  yourself  to  have  truly  repented,  I  will 
administer  to  you  the  mysteries  of  God."* 

The  storm  now  broke  forth  upon  him.  A  warrant  was 
issued,  and  he  was  brought  before  the  recorder  and  ma- 
gistrates, on  the  charges  of  Mr.  Williamson,  1.  That  he 
had  defamed  his  wife.  2.  That  he  had  causelessly  repel- 
led her  from  the  holy  communion.  Mr.  Wesley  denied 
the  first  charge ;  and  the  second  being  wholly  ecclesiasti- 
cal, he  would  not  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  ma- 
gistrate to  decide  upon  it.  He  was  however  told  that  he 
must  appear  before  the  next  court,  holden  at  Savannah. 

The  Causton  family  became  now  most  active  in  their 
efforts  to  injure  him.  By  them,  the  reason  why  Mr. 
Wesley  had  repelled  Mrs.  Williamson  from  the  Lord's 
♦Journal. 


38 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


table  was  slated  to  be  his  resentment  against  her  for 
having  refused  to  marry  him ;  which  they  knew  to  be 
contrary  to  the  fact.  Garbled  extracts  of  his  letters  were 
read  by  Causton  to  those  whom  he  could  collect  to 
hear  them,  probably  in  order  to  confirm  this;  and  Mrs. 
Williamson  was  prevailed  upon  to  swear  to  and  sign  a 
paper  containing  assertions  and  insinuations  injurious  to 
his  character.* 

The  calm  courage  of  the  man  who  was  thus  so  violent- 
ly and  unjustly  persecuted,  was  not  however  to  be  shaken. 
"I  sat  still  at  home,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  and  I  thank  God 
easy,  having  committed  my  cause  to  him,  and  remem- 
bered his  word,  'Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth 
temptation;  for  when  he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive  the 
crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord  hath  promised  to  them  that 
love  him.'  "t 

As  the  sitting  of  the  court  drew  near,  Causton  used 
every  art  to  influence  the  grand  jury ;  and  when  they 
met,  gave  them  "a  long  and  earnest  charge,  'to  beware 
of  .spiritual  tyranny,  and  to  oppose  the  new  illegal  autho- 
rity which  was  usurped  over  their  consciences.'  Mrs. 
Williamson's  affidavit  was  read ;  and  he  then  delivered  to 
them  a  paper,  entitled,  a  List  of  Grievances,  presented  by 

the  grand  jury  for  Savannah,  this  day  of  August, 

1737.  In  the  afternoon  Mrs.  Williamson  was  examined, 
who  acknowledged  that  she  had  no  objections  to  make 
against  Mr.  Wesley's  conduct  before  her  marriage.  The 
next  day  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Causton  were  also  examined, 
when  she  confessed,  that  it  was  by  her  request  Mr.  Wesley 
had  written  to  Mrs.  Williamson  on  the  5th  of  July ;  and 
Mr.  Causton  declared,  that  if  Mr.  Wesley  had  asked  hia 
consent  to  have  married  his  niece,  he  should  not  have 
refused  it.  The  grand  jury  continued  to  examine  these 
ecclesiastical  grievances,  which  occasioned  warm  debates 
till  Thursday;  when  Mr.  Causton  being  informed  they 
had  entered  on  matters  beyond  his  instructions,  went 
to  them,  and  behaved  in  such  a  manner,  that  he  turned 
forty-two,  out  of  the  forty-four,  into  a  fixed  resolution 
to  inquire  into  his  whole  behaviour.  They  immediately 
entered  on  that  business  and  continued  examining  wit- 
*  Journal  t  Ibid, 


LIFE  OF  WE9LEV. 


39 


nesscs  all  day  on  Friday.  On  Saturday,  Mr.  Causton 
finding  all  his  efforts  to  stop  them  ineffectual,  adjourned 
the  court  till  Thursday,  the  first  of  September,  and 
spared  no  pains,  in  the  mean  time,  to  bring  them  to 
another  mind.  September  1.  He  so  far  prevailed,  that 
the  majority  of  the  grand  jury  returned  the  list  of  grie- 
vances to  the  court,  in  some  particulars  altered,  under 
the  form  of  two  presentments,  containing  ten  bills,  only 
two  of  which  related  to  the  affair  of  Mrs.  Williamson ; 
and  only  one  of  these  was  cognizable  by  that  court,  the 
rest  being  merely  ecclesiastical.  September  2.  Mr.  Wesley 
addressed  the  court  to  this  effect:  'As  to  nine  of  the 
ten  indictments  against  me,  I  know  this  court  can  take 
no  cognizance  of  theni ;  they  being  matters  of  an  ec- 
clesiastical nature,  and  this  not  an  ecclesiastical  court. 
But  the  tenth,  concerning  my  speaking  and  writing  to 
Mrs.  Williamson,  is  of  a  secular  nature  ;  and  this  there- 
fore I  desire  may  be  tried  here,  where  the  facts  complain- 
ed of  were  committed.'  Little  answer  was  made,  and 
that  purely  evasive. 

"  In  the  afternoon  he  moved  the  court  again,  for  an 
immediate  trial  at  Savannah  ;  adding,  '  that  those  who 
are  offended  may  clearly  see  whether  I  have  done  any 
wrong  to  any  one  ;  or  whether  I  have  not  rather  deserved 
the  thanks  of  Mrs.  Williamson,  Mr.  Causton,  and  of  the 
whole  family.'  Mr.  Causton's  answer  was  full  of  civility 
and  respect.  He  observed,  'Perhaps  things  would  not 
have  been  carried  so  far  had  you  not  said,  you  believed 
if  Mr.  Causton  appeared,  the  people  would  tear  him  to 
pieces  ;  not  so  much  out  of  love  to  you,  as  out  of  hatred 
to  him  for  his  abomuiable  practices.'  If  Mr.  Wesley 
really  spake  these  words,  he  was  certainly  very  impru- 
dent, considering  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was 
placed.  But  we  too  often  find  in  disputes,  that  the  con- 
structions of  others  on  what  had  been  said  are  reported 
as  the  very  words  we  have  spoken  ;  which  I  suspect  to 
have  been  the  case  here.  Mr.  Causton,  however,  sufficient- 
ly discovered  the  motives  that  influenced  his  conduct  in 
this  business. 

"  Twelve  of  the  grand  jurors  now  drew  up  a  protest 
against  the  proceedings  of  the  majority,  to  be  immediately 


40 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY, 


sent  to  the  trustees  in  England.  In  this  paper  they  gave 
such  clear  and  satisfactory  reasons,  under  every  bill,  for 
their  dissent  from  the  majority,  as  effectually  did  away 
all  just  ground  of  complaint  against  Mr.  Wesley,  on  the 
subjects  of  the  prosecution."* 

"  He  attended  tlie  court  holden  on  November  the  third; 
and  again  at  the  court  held  on  the  twenty-third  ;  urging 
an  immediate  hearing  of  his  case,  that  he  might  have  an 
opportunity  of  answering  the  allegations  alleged  against 
him.  But  this  the  magistrates  refused,  and  at  the  same 
time  countenanced  every  report  to  his  disadvantage ; 
whether  it  was  a  mere  invention,  or  founded  on  a  mali-r 
cious  construction  of  any  thing  he  did  or  said.  Mr.  Wes- 
ley perceiving  that  he  had  not  the  most  distant  prospect 
of  obtaining  justice ;  that  he  was  in  a  place  where  those 
in  power  Avere  combined  together  to  oppress  him ;  and 
could  any, day  procure  evidence  (as  experience  had 
shown)  of  words  he  had  never  spoken,  and  of  actions  he 
had  never  done  ;  being  disappointed  too,  in  the  primary 
object  of  his  mission,  preaching  to  the  Indians  ;  he  con- 
sulted his  friends  what  he  ought  to  do  ;  who  were  of 
opinion  with  him,  that  by  these  circumstances  Providence 
did  now  call  him  to  leave  Savannah.  The  next  day  he 
called  on  Mr.  Causton,  and  told  him  he  designed  to  set  out 
for  England  immediately."* 

The  magistrates  made  a  show  of  forbidding  him  to 
leave  the  colony  ;  but  he  embarked  openly,  after  having 
publicly  advertised  his  intention,  no  man  interposing  to 
prevent  him  ;  one  leading  object  of  these  persecutions, 
being  to  drive  him  away.  His  sermons  had  been  too 
faithful,  and  his  reproofs  too  poignant,  to  make  his  con- 
tinuance desirable  to  the  majority  of  an  irreligious  colony. 

The  root  of  all  this  opposition  no  doubt  lay  in  the  en- 
mity of  his  hearers  to  truth  and  holiness  ;  but  its  mani- 
festation might  be  occasioned  in  part  by  the  strictness  with 
which  he  acted  upon  obsolete  branches  of  ecclesiastical 
discipline,  and  the  unbending  manner  in  which  he  insisted 
upon  his  spiritual  authority.  In  the  affair  of  Mrs.  Wil- 
liamson, he  stands  perfectly  exculpated  from  the  base 
motives  which  his  enemies  charged  upon  hdm ;  but  in  the 
♦miteheacl'sLife. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


41 


first  stages,  it  neither  appears  to  have  been  managed  with 
prudence,  nor  a  proper  degree  of  Christian  courtesy. 
His  enemies  have  sneered  at  his  declaration,  that,  after  he 
left  Georgia,  he  discovered  tliat  he  who  went  out  to  leach 
others  Christianity  was  not  a  Christian  himself ;  but  had 
he  been  a  Christian  in  that  full,  evangelical  sense  which 
he  meant ;  had  he  been  that  which  he  afterwards  became, 
not  only  would  the  exclusion  of  Mrs.  Williamson  from  the 
sacrament  have  been  effected  in  another  manner,  but  his 
mission  to  Georgia  would  probably  have  had  a  very  dif- 
ferent result.  His  preaching  was  defective  in  that  one 
great  point,  which  gives  to  preaching  its  real  power  over 
the  heart,  "  Christ  crucified ;"  and  his  spirit,  although 
naturally  frank  and  amiable,  was  not  regenerated  by  that 
"  power  from  on  high,"  the  first  and  leading  fruits  of 
which  are  meekness  and  charity. 

In  the  midst  of  his  trials,  Mr.  Wesley  received  very 
consolatory  letters  from  his  friends,  both  in  England  and 
in  America  ;  and  there  were  many  in  Georgia  itself,  who 
rightly  esiSnated  the  character  and  the  labours  of  a  man 
who  held  five  or  six  public  services  on  the  Lord's  day,  in 
English,  Italian,  and  French,  for  the  benefit  of  a  mixed 
population  ; — who  spent  his  whole  time  in  works  of  piety 
and  mercy,  and  M'ho  distributed  his  income  so  profusely 
in  charity  that,  for  many  months  together,  he  had  not 
"  one  shilling  in  the  house."  His  health,  whilst  in 
America  continued  good  ;  and  it  is  in  proof  of  the  natu- 
ral vigor  of  his  constitution,  that  he  exposed  himself  to 
every  change  of  season,  frequently  slept  on  the  ground, 
under  the  dews  of  the  night  in  summer,  and  in  winter 
with  his  hair  and  clothes  frozen  to  the  earth.  He  arrived 
in  London,  February  3d,  1738,  and  notwithstanding  his 
many  exercises,  reviewed  the  result  of  liis  American  la- 
bours with  some  satisfaction  : — "  Many  reasons  I  have  to 
bless  God  for  my  having  been  carried  into  that  strange 
land  contrary  to  all  my  preceding  resolutions.  Hereby  I 
trust  he  hath  in  some  measure  '  humbled  me,  and  proved 
me,  and  shown  me  what  was  in  my  heart.'  Hereby  I 
have  been  taught  to  'beware  of  men.'  Hereby  God  has 
given  me  to  know  many  of  his  servants,  particularly  those 
of  the  church  of  Hernhuth.  Hereby  my  passage  is  open 
5 


42 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


to  the  writings  of  holy  men,  in  the  German,  Spanish,  and 
Italian  tongues.  All  in  Georgia  have  heard  the  word  of 
God  ;  some  have  believed,  and  began  to  run  well.  A  few 
steps  have  been  taken  towards  publishing  the  glad  tidings 
both  to  the  African  and  American  heathens.  Many  child- 
ren have  learned  '  how  they  ought  to  serve  God,'  and  to 
be  useful  to  their  neighbour.  And  those  whom  it  most 
concerns  have  an  opportunity  of  knowing  the  state  of 
their  infant  colony,  and  laying  a  firmer  foundation  of 
peace  and  happiness  to  many  generations." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  solemn  review  which  Mr.  Wesley  made  of  the  state 
of  his  religious  experience,  both  on  liis  voyage  home,  and 
soon  after  his  landing  in  England,  deserves  to  be  particu- 
larly noticed,  both  for  general  instruction,  and  because  it 
stands  in  immediate  connexion  with  a  point  which  has  es- 
pecially perplexed  those  who  have  attributed  his  charges 
against  himself,  as  to  the  deficiency  of  his  Christianity  at 
this  period,  to  a  strange  and  fanatical  fancy.  By  the  most 
infallible  of  proofs,  he  tells  us, — that  of  his  feelings, — he 
was  convinced  of  his  having  "  no  such  faith  in  Christ"  as 
prevented  h's  heart  from  being  troubled  ;  and  he  earnestly 
prays  to  be  "  saved  by  such  a  faith  as  implies  peace  in 
life  and  death."  "  I  went  to  America  to  convert  the 
Indians ;  but  O,  who  shall  convert  me  !  Who  is  he  that 
will  deliver  me  from  this  evil  heart  of  unbelief?  I  have 
a  fair  summer  religion  ;  I  can  talk  well,  nay,  and  beheve 
myself,  while  no  danger  is  present ;  but  let  death  look  me 
in  the  face,  and  my  spirit  is  troubled,  nor  can  I  say,  '  To 
die  is  gain.' 

'  I  have  a  sin  of  fear,  that  when  I've  spun 
My  last  thread,  I  shall  perish  on  the  shore.' " 

He  thought  therefore  that  a  faith  was  attainable,  which 
should  deliver  him  entirely  from  guilty  dread,  and  fill  him 
with  peace  ;  but  of  this  faith  itself,  his  notions  were  still 
confused.    He  manifestly  regarded  it   generally,  as  a 


Lire  OP  wEst-EY, 


43 


principle  of  belief  in  the  Gospel,  which,  by  quickening 
his  efforts  to  self  mortification  and  entire  obedience,  would 
raise  him,  througli  a  renewed  state  of  heart,  into  accept- 
ance and  peace  with  God.  This  error  is  common.  It 
regards  faith,  not  so  much  as  the  personal  trust  of  a 
guilty  and  helpless  sinner  upon  Christ  for  salvation  and  all 
the  gifts  of  spiritual  life,  but  as  working  out  sanctifying 
effects  in  the  heart  and  life,  partly  by  natural,  partly  by 
supernatural  process,  and  thus  producing  peace  of  con- 
science.— But  he  goes  on  with  this  interesting  history  of 
his  heart. 

"  I  was  early  warned  against  laying  too  much  stress  on 
outward  works,  as  the  Papists  do,  or  on  a  faith  without 
works,  which,  as  it  does  not  include,  so  it  will  never  lead 
to,  true  hope  or  charity."* 

Here  he  manifestly  confounds  the  faith  by  which  a 
man  is  justified,  which  certainly  does  not  "  include"  in 
itself  the  moral  effects  of  which  he  speaks,  with  the  faith 
of  a  man  who  is  in  a  justified  state^  which  necessarily 
produces  them  because  of  that  vital  union  into  which  it 
brings  him  witli  Christ,  his  Saviour,  by  whom  he  is  saved 
from  the  power  and  love,  as  well  as  from  the  guilt,  of  sin. 

"  I  fell  among  some  Lutheran  and  Calvinist  authors, 
whose  confused  and  indigested  accounts  magnified  faith 
to  such  an  amazing  size,  that  it  quite  hid  all  the  rest  of 
the  commandments."! 

This  is  perhaps  a  proof  that  he  did  not  understand 
these  writers,  any  more  than  he  did  the  Moravians  in 
Georgia,  who  failed  to  enlighten  him  on  the  subject  of 
faith,  although  he  saw  that  they  in  fact  possessed  a 
"  peace  through  believing,"  which  he  had  not,  and  yet 
painfully  felt  to  be  necessary.  The  writers  he  mentions 
probably  represented  faith  only  as  necessary  to  justifica- 
tion; whilst  he  conceived  them  to  teach,  that  faith  only 
is  necessary  to  final  salvation. 

"  The  English  writer.s,  such  as  bishop  Beveridge,  bishop 
Taylor,  and  Mr.  Nelson,  a  little  relieved  me  from  these 
well-meaning,  wrong-headed  Germans.  Their  accounts 
of  Christianity  I  could  easily  see  to  be,  in  the  main,  con- 
«8tent  both  with  reason  and  Scripture."} 

*  Journal.  t  Ibid.  t  Ibid. 


44 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


Beveridge  would  have  met  his  case  more  fully  than 

either  Taylor  or  Nelson,  had  he  been  in  a  state  of  mind 
to  comprehend  him ;  and  still  better  would  he  have  been 
instructed  by  studying,  with  as  much  Cure  as  he  examined 
Taylor  and  Law,  the  Homilies  of  his  own  church,  and  the 
works  of  her  older  divines. 

The  writings  of  the  fathers  then  promised  to  give  him 
further  satisfaction  ;  but  to  them  he  at  length  took  various 
exceptions.  He  finally  resorted  to  the  Mystic  writers, 
"whose  noble  descriptions  of  union  with  God,  and  inter- 
nal religion,  made  everything  else  appear  mean,  flat,  and 
insipid.  But  in  truth  they  made  good  works  appear  so 
too,  yea,  and  faith  itself,  and  what  not  ?  These  gave 
me  an  entire  new  view  of  religion,  nothing  like  any  I 
had  before.  But,  alas!  it  was  nothii^g  hke  that  rehgion 
which  Christ  and  his  apostles  lived  and  taught.  I  had  a 
plenary  dispensation  from  all  the  commands  of  God ;  the 
form  ran  thus,  'Love  is  all;  all  the  commands  beside  are 
only  means  of  love ;  you  must  choose  those  which  you 
feel  are  means  to  you,  and  use  them  as  long  as  they 
are  so.'  Thus  were  all  the  bands  burst  at  once.  And 
though  I  could  never  fully  come  into  this,  nor  content- 
edly omit  what  God  enjoined,  yet,  I  know  not  how,  I 
fluctuated  between  obedience  and  disobedience.  I  had 
no  heart,  no  vigour,  no  zeal  in  obeying,  continually 
doubting  whether  I  was  right  or  wrong,  and  never  out 
of  perplexities  and  entanglements.  Nor  can  I  at  this 
hour  give  a  distinct  account  how  or  when  I  came  a  little 
back  toward  the  right  way ;  only  my  present  sense  is 
this: — all  the  other  enemies  of  Christianity  are  triflers; 
the  Mystics  are  the  most  dangerous  of  its  enemies.  They 
stab  it  in  the  vitals;  and  its  most  serious  professors  are 
most  likely  to  fall  by  them.  May  I  praise  Him  who  hath 
snatched  me  out  of  this  fire  likewise,  by  warning  all 
others  that  it  is  set  on  fire  of  hell  !"* 

He  was,  however,  delivered  from  the  errors  of  the  Mys- 
tics, only  to  be  brought  back  to  the  point  from  which  he 
set  out;  but  his  humble  conclusion  from  the  whole  shows 
that  the  end  of  this  long  and  painful  struggle  was  about 
to  be  accomplished : — he  was  now  brought  fully  to  feel 
♦  Journal. 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


45 


and  confess. his  utter  helplessness,  and  was  not  "far  from 
the  kingdom  of  God." 

"  And  now,"  says  he,  "  it  is  upwards  of  two  years  since 
I  left  my  native  country,  in  order  to  teach  the  Georgia 
Indians  the  nature  of  Christianity;  but  what  have  I 
learned  myself  in  the  mean  time?  Why,  (what  I  least 
of  all  suspected,)  that  I  who  went  to  America,  to  convert 
others,  was  never  converted  myself.  '  I  am  not  mad,' 
though  I  thus  speak ;  but  '  speak  the  words  of  truth  and 
soberness if  haply  some  of  those  who  still  dream  may 
awake,  and  see,  that  as  I  am,  so  are  they. 

"Are  they  read  in  philosophy?  So  was  I.  In  ancient 
or  modern  tongues  ?  So  was  I  also.  Are  they  versed  in 
the  science  of  divinity  ?  I  too  have  studied  it  many  years. 
Can  they  talk  fluently  upon  spiritual  things  ?  The  very 
same  I  could  do.  Are  they  plenteous  in  alms?  Behold, 
I  give  all  my  goods  to  feed  the  poor. 

"  Do  they  give  of  their  labour  as  well  as  their  sub- 
stance? I  have  laboured  more  abundantly  than  they  all. 
Are  they  willing  to  suffer  for  their  brethren?  I  have 
thrown  up  my  friends,  reputation,  ease,  country ;  I  have 
put  my  life.in  my  hand,  wandering  into  strange  lands;  I 
have  given  my  body  to  be  devoured  by  the  deep,  parched 
up  with  heat,  consumed  by  toil  and  weariness,  or  what- 
soever God  shall  please  to  bring  upon  me.  But  does  all 
this  (be  it  more  or  les^,  it  matters  not)  make  me  accepta- 
ble to  God  ?  Does  all  I  ever  did,  or  can  know,  say,  give, 
do,  or  suffer,  justify  me  in  his  sight  ?  yea,  or  the  constant 
use  of  all  the  means  of  grace?  (which,  nevertheless,  is 
meet,  right,  and  our  bounden  duty ;)  or  that  I  know  no- 
thing of  myself,  that  I  am,  as  touching  outward,  moral 
righteousness,  blameless?  or,  to  come  closer  yet,  the 
having  a  rational  conviction  of  all  the  truths  of  Christi- 
anity ?  Does  all  this  give  a  claim  to  the  holy,  heavenly, 
divine  character  of  a  Christian  ?  By  no  means.  If  the 
oracles  of  God  are  true,  if  we  are  still  to  abide  by  '  the 
law  and  the  testimony,'  all  these  things,  though  when 
ennobled  by  faith  in  Christ,  they  are  holy,  and  just,  and 
good,  yet  without  it  are  "  dung  and  dross." 

"  This  then  have  I  learned  in  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
that  I  am  fallen  short  of  the  glory  of  God  j"  that  my 


46 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


whole  heart  is  '  altogether  corrupt  and  abominable,'  and, 
consequpntl)',  my  Svliole  life;  (seeing  it  cannot  be,  that 
'an  evil  tree'  should  'bring  forth  good  fruit;')  that  my 
own  works,  my  own  suiferings,  my  own  righteousness, 
are  so  far  from  reconciling  me  to  an  offended  God,  so  far 
from  malving  any  atonement  for  the  least  of  those  sins 
which  '  are  more  m  number  than  tlie  liairs  of  my  head,' 
that  the  most  specious  of  them  need  an  atonement  them- 
selves, or  they  cannot  abide  his  righteous  judgment; 
that  having  the  sentence  of  deatli  in  my  heart,  and  having 
nothing  in  or  of  myself  to  plead,  I  have  no  hope  but  that 
of  being  justified  freely  '  through  the  redemption  that  is 
in  Jesus ;'  I  have  no  hope,  but  that  if  I  seek  I  shall  find 
the  Christ,  and  '  be  found  in  him,  not  having  my  own 
righteousness,  but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of 
Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith.' 

"If  it  be  said  that  I  have  faith,  (for  many  such  things 
have  1  heard  from  many  miserable  comforters,)  I  answer, 
So  have  the  devils — a  sort  of  faith ;  but  still  they  are 
strangers  to  the  covenant  of  promise.  So  tlie  apostles 
had  even  at  Cana  in  Galilee,  when  Jesus  first  '  manifested 
forth  his  glory;'  even  then  they,  in  a  sort,  'believed  on 
him ;'  but  they  had  not  then  '  the  faith  that  overcometh 
the  world.'  The  faith  I  want  is  '  a  sure  trust  and  con- 
fidence in  God,  that  through  tlie  merits  of  Christ,  my 
sins  are  forgiven,  and  I  reconciled  to  the  favour  of  God.' 
I  want  that  faith  which  St.  Paul  recommends  to  all  the 
world,  especially  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans, — that  faith 
which  enables  every  one  that  hath  it  to  cry  out,  '  I  live 
not ;  but  Christ  liveth  in  me ;  and  the  life  which  I  now 
live,  I  live  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me, 
and  gave  himself  for  me.'  I  want  that  faith  which  none 
has,  without  knowing  that  he  hath  it ;  (though  many  im- 
agine they  have  it,  who  have  it  not ;)  for  whosoever  hath 
it  is  freed  from  sin ;  the  whole  '  body  of  sin  is  destroyed' 
in  him :  he  is  freed  from  fear,  '  having  peace  with  God 
through  Christ,  and  rejoicing  in  hope  of  the  glory  of 
God.'  And  he  is  freed  from  doubt,  'having  the  love  of 
God  shed  abroad  in  his  heart,  through  the  Holy  Ghost 
which  is  given  unto  him ;  which  Spirit  itself  beareth  wit- 
ness with  his  spirit,  that  he  is  a  child  of  God. '  "* 
♦  Journal, 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


47 


A  spirit  thus  breathing  after  God,  and  anxious  to  be 
taught  "  the  way  of  God  more  perfectly,"  could  not  be 
left  in  its  darkness  and  solicitude.  A  few  days  after  his 
arrival  in  London,  he  met  with  Peter  Bohler,  a  minister 
of  the  Moravian  church.  This  was  on  February  7th, 
which  he  marks  as  "  a  day  much  to  be  remembered,"  be- 
cause the  conversation  which  he  had  with  Bohler  on  the 
subject  of  saving  faith,  a  subject  probably  brought  on  by 
himself,  first  opened  his  mind  to  true  views  on  that  sub- 
ject, notwithstanding  the  objections  with  which  he  assault- 
ed the  statements  of  the  Moravian  teacher,  and  which 
caused  Bohler  more  than  once  to  exclaim,  "  My  brother, 
that  philosophy  of  yours  must  be  purged  away."  At  Ox- 
ford, whither  he  had  gone  to  visit  Charles,  who  was  sick, 
he  again  met  with  his  Moravian  friend,  "  by  whom,"  he 
says,  "  in  the  hand  of  the  great  God,  I  was  clearly  con- 
vinced of  unbelief,  of  the  want  of  that  faith  whereby 
alone  we  are  saved  with  the  full  Christian  salvation." 

"  He  was  now  conj'inced  that  his  faith  had  been  too 
much  separated  from  an  evangelical  view  of  the  promises 
of  a  free  justification,  or  pardon  of  sin,  through  the 
atonement  and  mediation  of  Christ  alone,  which  was  the 
reason  why  he  had  been  held  in  continual  bondage  and 
fear."*  In  a  few  days  he  met  Peter  Bohler  again, — "  who 
now,"  he  says,  "  amazed  me  more  and  more,  by  the  ac- 
count he  gave  of  the  fruits  of  living  faith,  the  holiness 
and  happiness  which  he  affirmed  to  attend  it.  The  next 
morning  I  began  the  Greek  Testament  again,  resolving  to 
abide  by  '  the  law  and  the  testimony,'  being  confident  that 
God  would  hereby  show  me  whether  this  doctrine  was  of 
God."t 

In  a  fourth  conversation  with  this  excellent  man,  he  was 
still  more  cojifirmcd  in  the  view,  "  that  faith  is,  to  use  the 
words  of  our  church,  a  sure  trust  and  confidence  which 
a  man  has  in  God,  that,  through  the  merit  of  Christ,  his 
sins  are  forgiven,  and  he  reconciled  to  the  favour  of  God." 
Some  of  his  objections  to  Bohler's  statements  on  instan- 
taneous conversion  were  also  removed  by  a  diligent  exa- 
mination of  the  Scriptures.  "  I  had,"  he  observes,  "  but 
one  retreat  left  on  this  subject :  Thus,  I  grant  God  •wrought 
♦  Whitehead  s  Life.  t  Journal. 


48 


LIFE  Of  WESLEY. 


in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity;  but  the  times  are  changed. 
What  reason  have  I  to  believe  he  works  in  the  same  man- 
ner now?  But,  on  Sunday,  22d,  I  was  beat  out  of  this  retreat, 
too,  by  the  concurring  evidence  of  several  living  witnesses, 
who  testified  God  had  so  wrought  in  themselves,  giving  them 
in  a  moment,  such  a  faith  in  the  blood  of  his  Son  as  trans- 
lated them  out  of  darkness  into  light,  and  from  sin  and 
fear  into  holiness  and  happiness.  Here  ended  my  disputing. 
I  could  now  only  cry  out,  '  Lord,  help  thou  my  unbelief!' " 

He  now  began  to  declare  that  doctrine  of  faith  which 
he  had  been  taught;  and  those  who  were  convinced  of 
sin  gladly  received  it.  He  Avas  also  much  confirmed  in  the 
truth  by  hearing  the  experience  of  Mr.  Hutchins  of  Pem- 
broke college,  and  Mrs.  Fox:  "Two  living  witnesses,"  he 
says,  "  that  God  can,  at  least,  if  he  does  not  always,  give 
that  faith  whereof  cometh  salvation,  in  a  moment,  as  light- 
ning falling  from  heaven."* 

Mr.  Wesley  and  a  few  others  now  formed  themselves 
into  a  religious  society,  which  met  in  Fetter-Lane.  But 
although  they  thus  assembled  with  the  Moravians,  they 
remained  members  of  the  Church  of  England ;  and  af- 
terwards, when  some  of  the  Moravian  teachers  introduced 
new  doctrines,  Mr.  Wesley  and  his  friends  separated  from 
them,  and  formed  that  distinct  community  which  has  since 
been  known  as  "  The  Methodist  Society."  The  rules  of 
the  Fetter-Lane  society  were  printed  under  the  title  of 
"Orders  of  a  Religous  Society,  meeting  in  Fetter-Lane; 
in  obedience  to  the  command  of  God  by  St.  James,  and 
by  the  advice  of  Peter  Bohler,  1738." 

As  yet  Mr.  Wesley  had  not,  attained  the  blessing  for 
which  he  so  earnestly  sought,  and  now  with  clearer  views. 
His  language  as  to  himself,  though  still  that  of  complaint, 
was  become,  in  truth,  the  language  of  a  broken  and  a  con- 
trite heart.  It  was  no  longer  in  the  tone  of  a  man  disap- 
pointed as  to  the  results  of  his  own  efforts,  and  throAVTX 
into  distressing  perplexity,  as  not  knowing  where  to  turn 
for  help.  He  was  now  bowed  in  lowly  sorrow  before  the 
throne;  but  he  knew  that  it  was  "the  throne  of  grace;" 
and  his  cry  was  that  of  the  publican,  "  God  be  merciful  to 
n>e  a  sinner."    In  a  letter  to  a  friend,  he  says, — 

♦Journal.  *  .  -. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


49 


"  I  feel  what  you  say,  though  not  enough ;  for  I  am 
under  the  same  condemnation.  I  see  that  the  whole  law 
of  God  is  lioly,  just,  and  good.  I  know  every  thought, 
every  temper  of  my  soul,  ought  to  bear  God's  image 
and  superscription.  But  how  am  I  fallen  from  the  glory 
of  God  !  I  feel  that  '  I  am  sold  under  sin.'  I  know  that  I 
too  deserve  nothing  but  wrath,  being  full  of  all  abomina- 
tions, and  having  no  good  thing  in  me  to  atone  for  them, 
or  to  remove  the  wrath  of  God.  All  my  works,  my  right- 
eousness, my  prayers,  need  an  atonement  for  themselves. 
So  that  my  mouth  is  stopped.  I  have  nothing  to  plead. 
God  is  holy  :  I  am  unholy.  God  is  a  consuming  fire  :  I 
am  altogether  a  sinner,  meet  to  be  consumed. 

"  Yet  I  hear  a  voice,  (and  is  it  not  the  voice  of  God  ?) 
saying, '  Believe  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.  He  that  believeth 
is  passed  from  death  unto  life.  God  so  loved  the  world, 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believ- 
eth on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.'  "* 

In  this  state  of  mind  he  continued  till  May  the  24th, 
1738,  and  then  gives  the  following  account  of  his  conver- 
sion : — 

"  I  think,  it  was  about  five  this  morning,  that  I  opened 
my  Testament  on  those  words,  '  There  are  given  unto  us 
exceeding  great  and  precious  promises,  that  by  these  ye 
might  be  partakers  of  the  divine  nature.'  2  Peter  i.  4. 
Just  as  I  went  out,  I  opened  it  again  on  those  words, 
*  Thou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God.'  In  the  af- 
ternoon I  was  asked  to  go  to  St.  Paul's.  The  anthem  was, 
'  Out  of  the  deep  have  I  called  unto  thee,  O  Lord :  Lord, 
hear  my  voice.  O  let  thine  ears  consider  well  the  voice 
of  my  complaint.  If  thou.  Lord,  wilt  be  extreme  to  mark 
what  is  done  amiss,  O  Lord,  who  may  abide  it  ?  But 
there  is  mercy  with  thee ;  therefore  thou  shall  be  feared. 
O  Israel,  trust  in  the  Lord,  for  with  the  Lord  there  is  mercy, 
and  with  him  is  plenteous  redemption.  And  he  shall  re- 
deem Israel  from  all  his  sins.' 

"  In  the  evening  I  went  very  unwillingly  to  a  society  in 
Aldersgate-street,  where  one  was  reading  Lutlier's  pre- 
face to  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  About  a  quarter  be- 
fore nine,  while  he  was  describing  the  change  which  God 
*  Journal. 


50 


LIFE  or  WESLEY. 


works  in  the  heart  through  faith  in  Christ,  I  felt  my 
heart  stran^^ely  warmed.  I  felt  I  did  trust  in  Christ, 
Christ  alone  for  salvation  :  and  an  assurance  was  given 
me,  that  he  had  taken  away  my  sins,  even  mine,  and  sa- 
ved me  from  the  '  law  of  sin  and  death.' 

"  I  began  to  pray  with  all  my  miglit,  for  those  who  had 
in  a  more  especial  manner  despitefully  used  me,  and  per- 
secuted me.  I  then  testified  openly  to  all  there,  what  I  now 
first  felt  in  my  heart.  But  it  was  not  long  before  the  ene- 
my suggested,  'This  cannot  be  faith,  for  where  is  thy  joy?' 
Then  was  I  taught,  that  peace  and  victory  over  sin  are 
essential  to  faith  in  the  captain  of  our  salvation, :  but,  that 
as  to  the  transports  of  joy,  that  usually  attend  the  begin- 
ning of  it,  especially  in  those  who  have  mourned  deeply, 
God  sometimes  giveth,  sometimes  withholdeth  them,  ac- 
cording to  the  counsels  of  his  own  will."* 

After  this  he  had  some  struggles  with  doubt ;  but  he 
proceeded  from  "  strength  to  strength,"  till  he  could  say, 
"  Now  I  was  always  conqueror."  His  experience,  nur- 
tured by  habitual  prayer,  and  deepened  by  unwearied 
exertion  in  the  cause  of  his  Saviour,  settled  into  that 
steadfast  faith  and  solid  peace,  which  the  grace  of  God 
perfected  in  him  to  the  close  of  his  long  and  active  life. 

His  brother  Charles  was  also  made  partaker  of  the 
same  grace.  They  had  passed  together  through  the  bri- 
ers and  thorns,  through  the  perplexities  and  shadows  of 
the  legal  wilderness,  and  the  hour  of  their  deliverance  was 
not  far  separated.  Bohler  visited  Charles  in  his  sickness 
at  Oxford,  but  "  the  Pharisee  within"  was  somewhat  of- 
fended when  the  honest  German  shook  his  head  at  learn- 
ing that  his  hope  of  salvation  rested  upon  "  his  best  en- 
deavours." After  his  recovery,  the  reading  of  Halyburton's 
Life  produced  in  him  a  sense  of  his  want  of  that  faith 
which  brings  "  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  Bohler 
visited  him  again  in  London,  and  he  began  seriously  to 
consider  the  doctrine  which  he  urged  upon  him.  His 
convictions  of  his  state  of  danger,  as  a  man  unjustified 
before  God,  and  of  his  need  of  the  faith  whereof  cometh 
salvation,  increased,  and  he  spent  his  whole  time  in  dis- 
coursing on  these  subjects,  in  prayer,  and  reading  th0i 
*  Journal.  • 


LIFE  or  WESLEY. 


51 


Scriptures.  Luther  on  the  Galatians  then  fell  into  his 
hands,  and  on  reading  the  preface  he  observes : — 

"  I  marvelled  tliat  we  were  so  soon  and  entirely  remo- 
ved from  him  that  called  us  into  the  grace  of  Christ,  unto 
another  Gospel.  Who  would  believe  that  our  church  had 
been  founded  on  this  important  article  of  justification  by- 
faith  alone  ?  I  am  astonished  I  should  ever  think  this  a 
new  doctrine ;  especially  while  our  articles  and  homilies 
stand  unrepealed,  and  the  key  of  knov/ledge  is  not  yet 
taken  away.  From  tliis  time  I  endeavoured  to  ground 
as  many  of  our  friends  as  came  to  see  me  in  this  funda- 
mental truth, — salvation  by  faith  alone, — not  an  idle,  dead 
faith,  but  a  faith  wliicli  works  by  love,  and  is  incessantly 
productive  of  all  good  works  and  all  holiness."* 

"On  Whit-Sunday,  May  21sl,  he  awoke  in  hope  and 
expectation  of  soon  attaining  the  object  of  his  wishes,  the 
knowledge  of  God  reconciled  in  Christ  Jesus.  At  nine 
o'clock  his  brother  and  some  friends  came  to  him  and 
sung  a  hymn  suited  to  the  day.  When  they  left  him  he 
betook  himself  to  prayer.  Soon  afterwards  a  person 
came  and  said,  in  a  very  solemn  manner,  '  Believe  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  and  thou  shalt  be  healed  of  all 
thine  infirmities.'  The  words  went  through  his  heart, 
and  animated  him  with  confidence.  He  looked  into  the 
Scripture,  and  read,  '  Now,  Lord,  what  is  my  hope  ?  truly 
my  hope  is  even  in  thee.'  He  then  cast  his  eye  on  these 
words,  '  He  hatli  put  a  new  song  into  my  mouth,  even 
thanksgiving  unto  our  God  ;  many  shall  see  it  and  fear, 
and  put  their  trust  in  the  Lord.'  Afterwards  he  opened 
upon  Isaiah  xl.  1 :  '  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people, 
saith  our  God  ;  speak  comfortably  to  Jerusalem,  and  cry 
unto  her,  that  her  warfare  is  accomplished,  that  her  ini- 
quity ia  pardoned,  lor  she  hath  received  of  the  Lord's 
hand  double  for  all  her  sins.'  In  reading  these  passages 
of  Scripture,  he  was  enabled  to  view  Clirist  as  set  forth  to 
be  a  propitiation  for  his  sins,  through  faith  in  his  blood  ; 
and  he  received  that  peace  and  rest  in  God  which  he  had 
80  earnestly  sought. 

"  The  next  day  he  greatly  rejoiced  in  reading  the  107th 
Psalm,  so  nobly  descriptive,  he  observes,  of  what  God  had 
*  Journal, 


S2 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


done  for  liis  soul.  He  had  a  very  humbling  view  of  his 
own  weakness ;  but  was  enabled  to  contemplate  Christ  in 
his  power  to  save  to  the  uttermost  all  those  who  come 
unto  God  by  him."* 

Such  was  the  manner  in  which  these  excellent  men, 
whom  God  had  been  long  preparing  for  the  great  work 
of  reviving  scriptural  Christianity  throughout  these  lands, 
were  at  length  themselves  brought  "  into  the  liberty  of  the 
sons  of  God."  On  tlie  account  thus  given,  a  few  observa- 
tions may  not  be  misplaced. 

It  is  easy  to  assail  with  ridicule  such  disclosures  of 
the  exercises  of  minds  impressed  with  the  great  concern 
of  salvation,  and  seeking  for  deliverance  from  a  load  of 
anxiety  in  "  a  way  which  they  had  not  known ;"  and 
flippantly  to  resolve  all  these  shadowings  of  doubt,  these 
dawnings  of  hope,  and  the  joyous  influence  of  tlie  full 
day  of  salvation,  as  some  have  done,  into  fancy,  nervous 
affection,  or  natural  constitution.  To  every  truly  serious 
mind,  these  will  however  appear  subjects  of  a  momentous 
character  ;  and  no  one  will  proceed  either  safely  or  so- 
berly to  judge  of  them,  who  does  not  previously  inquire 
into  the  doctrine  of  the  New  Testament  on  the  sibject  of 
human  salvation,  and  apply  the  principles  which  he  may 
find  there,  authenticated  by  infallible  inspiration,  to  the 
examination  of  such  cases.  If  it  be  there  declared  that 
the  state  of  man  by  nature,  and  so  long  as  he  remains 
un  forgiven  by  his  off'ended  God,  is  a  state  of  awful  peril, 
then  the  all-absorbing  seriousness  of  that  concern  for  de- 
liverance from  spiritual  danger,  which  was  exhibited  by 
the  Wesleys,  is  a  feeling  becoming  our  condition,  and  is 
the  only  rational  frame  of  mind  which  we  can  cultivate. 
If  we  are  required  to  be  of  "  a  humble  and  broken  spirit," 
and  if  the  very  root  of  a  true  repentance  lies  in  a  "  godly 
sorrow"  for  sin  ;  then  their  humiliations  and  self-re- 
proaches were  in  correspondence  with  a  state  of  heart 
wliich  is  enjoined  upon  all  by  an  authority  which  we 
cannot  dispute.  If  the  appointed  method  of  man's  salva- 
tion, laid  down  in  the  Gospel,  be  gratnitoxis  pardon 
through  faith  in  the  merits  of  Chris fs  sacrifice,  and  if  a 
method  of  seeking  justification  by  works  of  moral  obedi- 
*  Whiteheads  Life. 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


53 


ence  to  the  divine  law,  be  plainly  placed  by  St.  Paul  in 
opposition  to  this,  and  declared  to  be  vain  and  friiilless  ; 
then,  if  in  this  way  the  Wesleys  sought  their  justification 
before  God,  we  see  how  true  their  own  statement  must  ol 
necessity  have  been,  that  with  all  their  efforts  they  could 
obtain  no  solid  peace  of  mind,  no  deliverance  from  the  en- 
slaving fear  of  death  and  final  punishment,  because  they 
sought  that  by  imperfect  works  which  God  has  appointed 
to  be  attained  by  faith  alone.  If  it  be  said,  that  tlieir  case 
was  not  parallel  to  that  of  the  self-righteous  Jews,  who  did 
not  receive  the  Christian  religion,  and  therefore  that  the 
argument  of  the  apostle  does  not  apply  to  those  who  be- 
lieve the  Gospel,  it  will  remain  to  be  inquired,  whether 
the  circumstance  of  a  mere  belief  in  the  Christian  sys- 
tem, when  added  to  works  of  imperfect  obedience,  makes 
any  essential  difference  in  the  case  ;  or,  in  other  words, 
whether  justification  may  not  be  sought  by  endeavours 
to  obey  the  law,  although  the  Judaism  necessarily  im- 
plied in  it  may  be  arrayed  in  the  garb  of  Christian 
terms  and  phrases.  If  indeed  by  "  works  of  the  law" 
St.  Paul  had  meant  only  the  ceremonial  observances  of 
the  Jewish  church,  the  case  would  be  altered  ;  but  his 
epistle  to  the  Romans  puts  it  beyond  all  doubt,  that  in  his 
argument  respecting  justification  he  speaks  of  the  moral 
law,  since  his  grand  reason  to  prove  that  by  the  works  of 
the  law  no  man  can  be  justified,  is,  that  "  by  the  law  is  the 
knowledge  of  sin."  That  law  is  recognized  and  embodied 
in  the  New  Testament,  but  its  first  office  there  is  to  give 
"  the  knoMdedge  of  sin,"  that  men  may  be  convinced,  or,  as 
St.  Paul  forcibly  says,  "  slain"  by  it ;  and  it  stands  there 
in  connexion  with  the  atonement  for  sin  made  by  the  sacri- 
fice upon  tlie  cross.  Nor  is  the  faith  which  delivers  men 
from  the  condemnation  of  a  law  which  lias  been  broken, 
and  never  can  be  perfectly  kept  by  man,  a  mere 
belief  in  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  of  Christy  but  reli- 
ance upon  his  sacrifice,  in  which  consists  that  personal 
act  by  which  we  become  parties  to  the  covenant  of  free 
and  gratuitous  justification,  and  which  then  only  stands 
sure  to  us,  because  then  only  we  accept  the  mercy  of  God, 
as  exercised  towards  us  through  Christ,  and  on  the  pre- 
scribed conditions.  If  therefore  in  the  matter  of  our  jus- 
6 


54 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


tification,  like  the  Wesleys  before  they  obtained  clearer 
light,  and  the  divines  who  Avere  their  early  guides,  we 
change  the  office  of  the  moral  law,  though  we  may  still 
regard  it  as  in  some  way  connected  with  the  Gospel,  and 
call  it  by  the  general  term  of  Christianity,  of  which  it  in 
truth  forms  the  preceptive  part,  and  resort  to  it,  not  that 
we  may  be  convinced  of  the  greatness  of  our  sins,  and 
of  our  utter  inability  to  commend  ourselves  to  a  holy 
God,  the  requirements  of  whose  law  have  never  been  re- 
laxed ;  but  as  the  means  of  qualifying  ourselves  by  efforts 
of  obedience  to  it,  for  the  reception  of  divine  mercy,  and 
acquiring  a  fitness  and  worthiness  for  the  exercise  of  grace 
towards  us  ;  then  we  reject  the  perfection  and  suitableness 
of  the  atonement  of  Christ ;  we  refuse  to  commit  our  whole 
case  in  the  matter  of  our  justification  to  that  atonement, 
according  to  the  appointment  of  God ;  and  as  much  seek 
justification  by  works  of  the  law,  as  did  the  Jews  them- 
selves. Such  was  the  case  with  the  Wesleys,  as  stated  by 
themselves.  Theirs  was  not  indeed  a  state  of  heartless  for- 
mality, and  self-deluding  Pliarisaism,  aiming  only  at  exter- 
nal obedience.  It  was  just  the  reverse  of  this :  they  were 
awakened  to  a  sense  of  danger,  and  they  aimed,  nay,  strug- 
gled Avith  intense  efforts  after  universal  holiness,  inward 
and  outward.  But  it  was  not  a  state  of  salvation  :  and  if 
we  find  a  middle  state  like  this  described  in  the  Scriptures; 
a  state  in  transit  from  dead  formality  to  living  faith  and 
moral  deliverance,  the  question  with  respect  to  the  truth 
of  their  representations,  as  to  their  former  state  of  expe- 
rience, is  settled.  Such  a  middle  state  we  see  plainly  de- 
picted by  the  apostle  Paul  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans.  There  the  mind  of  the  person 
described  "  consents  to  the  law  that  it  is  good,"  but  finds 
in  it  only  greater  discoveries  of  his  sinfulness  and  danger  j 
there  the  effort  too  is  after  universal  holiness, — "  to  will 
is  present,"  but  the  power  is  wanting  ;  every  stniggle 
binds  the  chain  tighter  ;  sighs  and  groans  are  extorted, 
till  self-despair  succeeds,  and  the  true  Deliverer  is  seen 
and  trusted  in, — "  O  wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall 
deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?"  I  thank  God 
through  Jesus  Christ  my  Lord.*  The  deliverance  also  in 
*  "  All  the  time  1  was  at  Savannah  I  was  thus  beating  flie  air. 


LIFE  OP  -WESLEY. 


55 


the  case  described  by  St.  Paul  is  marked  with  the  same 
characters  as  that  exliibited  in  the  conversion  of  the  Wes- 
leys,  "  There  is  now  no  condemnation  to  them  tliat  are  in 
Christ  Jesus,  who  wallc  not  after  the  flesh  ;  but  after  the 
Spirit ;  for  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  hfe  in  Christ  Jesus  hath 
made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death." — "  Therefore 
being  justified  by  faith  we  have  peace  with  God,  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Every  thing  in  the  account  of 
the  change  wrought  in  the  two  brothers,  and  several  of 
their  friends  about  the  same  time,  answers  therefore  to 
the  New  Testament.  Nor  was  their  experience,  or  the 
doctrine  upon  Avhich  it  was  founded,  new,  although  in  that 
age  of  declining  piety  unhappily  not  common.  The 
Moravian  statement  of  justifying  faitli  was  that  of  all  the 
churches  of  the  Reformation ;  and  through  Peter  Bohler 
Mr.  Wesley  came  first  to  understand  the  true  doctrine  of 

Being  ignorant  of  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  which,  by  a  living  faith 
in  him,  bringeth  salvation  '  to  every  one  that  beUevetli,'  I  sought  to 
establish  my  own  righteousness,  and  so  laboured  in  the  fire  jJl  my 
days.  I  was  now  properly  under  the  law  ;  I  knew  that  '  the  law  of 
Grod  was  spiritual ;'  '  I  consented  to  it  that  it  was  good.  Yea,  I  de- 
lighted in  it,  after  the  inner  man.'  Yet  I  was  '  carnal,  sold  under 
sin.'  Every  day  was  I  constrained  to  cry  out,  '  What  I  do,  I  allow 
not ;  for  what  I  would  I  do  not,  but  what  I  hate,  that  I  do.  To  will 
is  indeed  present  with  me  ;  but  how  to  perform  that  which  is  good,  I 
find  not.  For  the  good  which  I  would  I  do  not ;  but  the  evil  which  I 
would  not,  that  I  do.  I  lind  a  law  that  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is 
present  with  me  :  Even  the  law  in  ray  members  warring  against  the 
law  of  my  mind,  and  still  bringing  me  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin.' 

"  In  this  state,  I  was  indeed  fighting  continually,  but  not  conquer- 
ing. Before,  I  had  w  illingly  served  sin  ;  now  it  was  unwillingly  ; 
but  still  I  served  it.  I  fell,  and  rose,  and  fell  again.  Sometimes 
I  was  overcome,  and  in  heaviness :  Sometimes  1  overcame,  and  was 
in  joy.  For,  as  in  the  former  state,  I  had  some  foretastes  of  the  ter- 
rors of  the  law,  so  had  I  in  this  of  the  comforts  of  the  Gospel. 
During  this  whole  struggle  between  nature  and  grace,  which  had 
now  continued  above  ten  years,  I  had  many  remarkable  returns  to 
prayer,  especially  when  I  was  in  trouble  :  I  had  many  sensible  com- 
forts, whi<!h  are  indeed  no  other  than  short  anticipations  of  the  hfe  of 
faith.  But  I  was  still  under  the  law,  not  under  grace,  the  state 
most  who  are  called  Christians  are  content  to  live  and  die  in.  For 
I  was  only  striving  with,  not  freed  from,  sin :  Neither  had  I  '  the 
witness  of  the  Spirit  with  my  spirit.'  And  indeed  could  not  ;  fiir 
'  I  sought  it  not  by  faith,  but,  as  it  were,  by  the  works  of  the  law,'  "— 
Wesley's  Journal, 


56 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


that  church  of  which  he  was  a  clergyman.  His  mind 
was  never  so  fully  imbued  with  the  letter  and  spirit  of  that 
article  in  which  she  has  so  truly  interpreted  St.  Paul, 
as  when  he  learned  from  him,  almost  in  the  words  of 
the  article  itself,  that  "we  are  justified  by  faith  only;" 
and  that  this  is  "  a  most  wholesome  doctrine."  For  the 
joyous  change  of  Mr.  Wesley's  feelings,  upon  his  persua- 
sion of  his  personal  interest  in  Christ  through  faith,  those 
persons  Avho,  like  Dr.  Southey,*  have  bestowed  tipon  it 
several  philosophic  solutions,  might  have  found  a  better 
reason  had  they  either  consulted  St.  Paul,  who  says,  "We 
joy  in  God,  by  whom  we  have  received  the  reconciliation," 
or  their  own  church,  which  has  emphatically  declared 
that  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  is  not  only  very 
wholesome,  but  also  "  very  full  of  comfort.''^ 


CHAPTER  V. 

From  this  time  Mr.  Wesley  commenced  that  laborious 
and  glorious  ministry,  which  directly  or  indirectly  was 
made  the  instrument  of  the  salvation  of  a  multitude,  not 
to  be  numbered  till  "  the  day  which  shall  make  all  things 
manifest."  That  which  he  had  experienced  he  preached 
to  others  with  the  confidence  of  one  who  had  "  the  wit- 
ness in  himself;"  and  with  a  fulness  of  sympathy  for  all 
who  wandered  in  paths  of  darkness  and  distress,  which 
could  not  but  be  inspired  by  the  recollection  of  his  own 
former  perplexities. 

At  this  period  the  religious  and  moral  state  of  the  na- 
tion was  such  as  to  give  the  most  serious  concern  to  the 
few  remaining  faithful.  There  is  no  need  to  draw  a 
picture  darker  than  the  truth,  to  add  importance  to  the 
labours  of  the  two  Wesleys,  Mr.  Wliitefield,  and  their 
associates.  The  view  here  taken  has  often  been  drawn  by 
pens  unconnected  with  and  hostile  to  Methodism. 

The  reformation  from  Popery  which  so  much  promoted 
the  instruction  of  the  populace  in  Scotland,  did  much  less 


♦  Life  of  Wesley. 


LIKE  OF  WESLEY. 


57 


for  the  people  of  England,  a  great  majority  of  whose  lower 
classes,  at  the  time  of  the  rise  of  Methodism  were  even 
ignorant  of  the  art  of  reading  ;  in  many  places  were  serai- 
barbarous  in  their  manners;  and  had  been  rescued  from 
the  superstitions  of  Popery,  only  to  be  left  ignorant  of 
every  tiling  beyond  a  few  vague  and  general  notions  of 
religion.  Great  numbers  were  destitute  even  of  these  ;  and 
there  are  still  agricultural  districts  in  the  southern  and 
western  counties,  where  the  case  is  not  even  at  this  mo- 
ment much  improved.  A  clergyman  has  lately  asserted 
in  print,  tliat  in  many  villages  of  Devonshire  the  only  form 
of  prayer  still  taught  to  their  children  by  the  peasantry 
are  the  goodly  verses  handed  down  from  their  popish 
ancestors, — 

"  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John, 
Bless  the  bed  tliat  I  lie  on,"  &c. 

The  degree  of  ignorance  on  all  scriptural  subjects,  and 
of  dull,  uninquiring  irrcligiousness  which  prevails  in 
many  other  parts,  is  well  known  to  those  who  have  turned 
their  attention  to  such  inquiries,  and  would  be  incredible 
to  those  who  have  not.*  A  great  impression  was  made  in 
many  places  by  the  zealous  preachers  who  sprang  forth 
at  the  reformation ;  and  in  the  large  towns  especially, 
they  turned  many  of  the  people  "  from  darkness  to  light." 
But  the  great  body  of  the  popish  parish  priests  went  round 
with  the  reformation,  without  conviction,  and  performed 
the  new  service,  as  they  performed  the  old,  in  order  to 
hold  fast  their  livings.  As  what  Avas  called  Puritanism 
prevailed,  more  zealous  preaching  and  more  careful  in- 
struction were  employed;  and  by  such  ministers  as  the 
two  thousand  who  Avere  silenced  by  the  act  of  uniformi- 
ty, with  many  equally  excellent  men  who  conformed  to 
the  re-established  church,  a  great  body  of  religious  and 
well-instructed  people  were  raised  up ;  and  indeed  before 
the  civil  wars  commenced,  the  nation  might  be  said  to  be 
in  a  state  of  hopeful  moral  improvement.  These  trou- 
bles however  arose  before  the  effect  produced  upon  a  state 
of  society  sunk  very  low  in  vice  and  ignorance,  could  be 

*  By  far  the  greater  number  of  the  peasants  in  Hampshire  and 
Berkshire,  lately  tried  under  the  Special  Commissions  for  riots  and 
rtack-buming,  were  found  unable  to  read. 

6* 


58 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


widely  extended ;  and  the  keen  and  ardent  political  feel- 
ings which  were  then  excited,  and  the  demoralizing  ef- 
fects of  civil  warfare,  greatly  injured  the  spirit  of  piety,  by 
occupying  the  attention  of  men,  and  rousing  their  passions 
by  other,  and  often  unhallowed,  subjects.  The  effect  was 
as  injurious  upon  the  advocates  of  the  old  church  discip- 
line as  upon  those  of  the  new,  and  probably  worse;  be- 
cause it  did  not  meet  in  them,  for  the  most  part,  with 
principles  so  genuine  and  active  to  resist  it.  In  many  of 
the  latter,  Antinomianism  and  fanaticism  became  conspi- 
cuous ;  but  in  the  former  a  total  irreligion,  or  a  lifeless 
formality,  produced  a  haughty  dislike  of  the  spiritualities 
of  religion,  or  a  sneering  contempt  of  them.  The  mis- 
chief was  completed  by  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts;  for 
whatever  advantages  were  gained  by  that  event  in  a  civil 
sense,  it  let  in  a  flood  of  licentiousness  and  impiety  which 
swept  away  almost  every  barrier  that  iiad  been  raised  in 
the  public  mind  by  the  labours  of  former  ages.  Infidelity 
began  its  ravages  upon  the  principles  of  the  higher  and 
middle  classes ;  the  mass  of  the  people  remained  uneduca- 
ted, and  were  Christians  but  in  name,  and  by  virtue  of 
their  baptism ;  whilst  many  of  the  great  doctrines  of  the 
reformation  were  banished  both  from  the  universities  and 
the  pulpits.  Archbishop  Leighton  complains  that  his 
"  church  was  a  fair  carcass  without  a  spirit ;"  and  Burnet 
observes,  that  in  his  time  "  the  clergy  had  less  authority, 
and  were  und.er  more  contempt,  than  those  of  any  church 
in  Europe;  for  they  were  much  the  most  remiss  in  their 
labours,  and  the  least  severe  in  their  lives."  Nor  did  the 
case  much  amend  up  to  the  period  of  which  we  speak. 
Dr.  Southey  says,  that  "  from  the  restoration  to  the  acces- 
sion of  the  house  of  Hanover,  the  English  church  could 
boast  of  its  brightest  ornaments  and  ablest  defenders,  men 
wlio  have  never  been  siirpassed  in  erudition,  in  eloquence, 
or  in  strength  and  subtlety  of  mind."  This  is  true  :  but 
it  is  equally  so,  that,  with  a  very  few  exceptions,  these 
great  powers  were  not  employed  to  teach,  defend,  and  in- 
culcate the  doctrines  of  that  church  on  personal  religion 
as  it  is  taught  in  her  liturgy,  her  articles,  and  her  homilies, 
but  what  often  was  subversive  of  them;  and  the  very  au- 
thority therefore  which  such  writers  acquired  by  their 


LIFE  or  WESLEY. 


59 


learned  and  able  works  was  in  many  respects  mischievous. 
They  stood  between  the  people  and  the  better  divines  of 
the  earlier  age  of  the  church,  and  put  them  out  of  sight ; 
and  they  set  an  example  of  preaching  which,  being  gene- 
rally followed,  placed  the  pulpit  and  the  desk  at  perpetual 
variance,  and  reduced  an  evangelical  liturgy  to  a  dead 
form  which  was  repeated  without  thought,  or  so  explained 
as  to  take  away  its  meaning.  A  great  proportion  of  the 
clergy,  whatever  other  learning  they  might  possess,  were 
grossly  ignorant  of  theology,  and  contented  themselves 
with  reading  short  unmeaning  sermons,  purchased  or  pil- 
fered, and  formed  upon  the  lifeless  theological  system  of 
tlie  day.  A  little  Calvinism  remained  in  the  church,  and 
a  little  evangelical  Arminianism ;  but  the  prevalent  divi- 
nity was  Pelagian,  or  what  very  nearly  approached  it. 
Natural  religion  was  the  great  subject  of  study,  when  the- 
ology was  studied  at  all,  and  was  made  the  test  and  stand- 
ard of  revealed  trutli.  The  doctrine  of  the  opus  opera- 
tum  of  tlie  Papists,  as  to  sacraments,  was  the  faith  of  the 
divines  of  the  older  school;  and  a  refined  system  of  ethics, 
unconnected  with  Christian  motives,  and  disjoined  from 
the  vital  principles  of  religion  in  the  heart,  was  the  fa- 
vourite theory  of  the  modern.  The  body  of  the  clergy 
neither  knew  nor  cared  about  systems  of  any  kind.  In 
a  great  number  of  instances  they  were  negligent  and  im- 
moral ;  often  grossly  so.  The  populace  of  the  large  towns 
were  ignorant  and  profligate ;  and  the  inhabitants  of  vil- 
lages added  to  ignorance  and  profligacy  brutish  and  bar- 
barous manners.  A  more  striking  instance  of  the  rapid 
deterioration  of  religious  light  and  influence  in  a  country 
scarcely  occurs,  than  in  our  own,  from  the  restoration  till 
the  rise  of  Methodism.  It  affected  not  only  the  church, 
but  the  dissenting  sects  in  no  ordinary  degree.  The 
Presbyterians  had  commenced  their  course  through  Arian- 
ism  down  to  Socinianism ;  and  those  who  held  the  doc- 
trines of  Calvin  had,  in  too  many  instances,  by  a  course 
of  hot-house  planting,  luxuriated  them  into  the  fatal  and 
disgusting  errors  of  Antinomianism.  There  were  indeed 
many  happy  exceptions  ;  but  this  was  the  general  state  of 
religion  and  morals  in  the  country,  when  the  Wesleys, 
"VNTiitefield,  and  a  few  kindred  spirits  came  forth,  ready  to 


60 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


sacrifice  ease,  reputation,  and  even  life  itself,  to  produce  a 
reformation. 

Before  Mr.  Wesley  entered  upon  the  career  which  after- 
wards distinguished  him,  and  having  no  preconceived  plan 
or  course  of  conduct,  but  to  seek  good  for  himself,  and  to  do 
good  to  others,  he  visited  the  Moravian  settlements  in 
Germany.  On  his  journey  he  formed  an  acquaintance  with 
several  pious  ministers  in  Holland  and  Germany;  and  at 
Marienbourn  was  greatly  edified  by  the  conversation  of 
count  Zinzendorf,  and  others  of  the  brethren,  of  whose 
views  he  did  not  however  in  all  respects  even  then  approve. 
From  thence  he  proceeded  to  Hernhuth,  Avhere  he  staid  a 
fortnight,  conversing  with  the  elders,  and  observing  the 
economy  of  that  church,  part  of  which  with  modifications 
he  afterwards  introduced  among  his  own  societies.  The 
sermons  of  Christian  David  especially  interested  him;  and 
of  one  of  them,  on  "  tlie  ground  of  our  faitli,"'  lie  gives  the 
substance  ;  which  we  may  insert,  both  as  excellent  in  itself, 
and  as  it  so  well  agrees  with  what  Mr.  Wesley  afterwards 
uniformly  taught : — 

"  The  word  of  reconciliation  which  the  apostles  preach- 
ed, as  the  foundation  of  all  they  taught,  was,  that  '  we 
are  reconciled  to  God,  not  by  our  own  works,  nor  by  our 
own  righteousness,  but  wholly  and  solely  by  the  blood  of 
Christ.' 

"  But  you  will  say.  Must  I  not  grieve  and  mourn  for 
my  sins'?  Must  I  not  humble  myself  before  my  God  ?  Is 
not  this  just  and  right  ?  And  must  I  not  first  do  this  before 
I  can  expect  God  to  be  reconciled  to  me  ?  I  answer,  it  is 
just  and  right.  You  must  be  humbled  before  God.  You 
must  have  a  broken  and  contrite  heart.  But  then  observe, 
this  is  not  your  own  work.  Do  you  grieve  that  you  are 
a  sinner  ?  This  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Are  you 
contrite?  Are  you  humbled  before  God ?  Do  you  indeed 
mourn,  and  is  your  heart  broken  within  you?  All  this 
worketh  the  self-same  Spirit. 

"  Observe  again,  this  is  not  the  foundation.  It  is  not  this 
by  which  you  are  justified.  This  is  not  the  righteousness, 
this  is  no  part  of  the  righteousness,  by  which  you  are  re- 
conciled unto  God.  You  grieve  for  your  sins.  You  are 
deeply  humble.    Your  heart  is  broken.  Well,  But  all  this 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


61 


is  nothing  to  your  justification.*  The  remission  of  your  sins 
is  not  owing  to  this  cause,  cither  in  whole  or  in  part.  Nay, 
observe  farther,  that  it  may  hinder  your  justification  ;  that 
is,  if  you  build  any  thing  upon  it ;  if  you  think,  I  must  be  so 
or  so  contrite;  I  must  grieve  more,  before  I  can  be  justified. 
Understand  this  well.  To  think  you  must  be  more  contrite, 
more  humble,  more  grieved,  more  sensible  of  the  weight 
of  sin,  before  you  can  be  justified,  is,  to  lay  your  contri- 
tion, your  grief,  your  humiliation  for  the  foundation  of 
your  being  justified :  at  least  for  a  part  of  the  foundation. 
Therefore  it  hinders  your  justification  ;  and  a  hinderance 
it  is  which  must  be  removed,  before  you  can  lay  the  right 
foundation.  The  right  foundation  is,  not  your  contrition, 
(though  that  is  not  your  own,)  not  your  righteousness, 
nothing  of  your  own ;  nothing  that  is  wrought  in  you  by 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  but  it  is  something  without  you,  viz.,  the 
righteousness  and  blood  of  Christ. 

"  For  this  is  the  word,  '  To  him  that  believeth  on  God 
that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  his  faith  is  counted  for  righte- 
ousness.' See  ye  not,  that  the  foundation  is  nothing  in 
us  ?  There  is  no  connexion  between  God  and  the  ungodly. 
There  is  no  tie  to  unite  them.  They  are  altogether  sepa- 
rate from  each  other.  They  have  nothing  in  common. 
There  is  nothing  less  or  more  in  the  ungodly,  to  join 
them  to  God.  Works,  righteousness,  contrition?  No. 
Ungodliness  only.  This  then  do,  if  you  will  lay  a  right 
foundation  : — Go  straight  to  Christ  with  all  your  ungodli- 
ness. Tell  him,  Thou  whose  eyes  are  as  a  flame  of  fire,- 
searching  my  heart,  seest  that  I  am  ungodly.  I  plead 
nothing  else.  I  do  not  say,  I  am  humble  or  contrite :  but 
I  am  ungodly.  Therefore  bring  me  to  Him  that  justifieth 
the  ungodly.  Let  thy  blood  be  the  propitiation  for  me  ; 
for  there  is  nothing  in  me  but  ungodliness. 

"  Here  is  a  mystery.  Here  the  wise  men  of  the  world 
are  lost,  are  taken  in  their  own  craftiness.  This  the  learn- 
ed of  the  world  cannot  comprehend.  It  is  foolishness 
unto  them.  Sin  is  the  only  thing  which  divides  men  from 
God.    Sin  (let  him  that  heareth  understand)  is  the  only 

♦  "  This  is  not  guarded.  These  things  do  not  merit  our  justifica- 
tion, but  they  are  absolutely  necessary  in  order  to  it.  God  never  par- 
dons the  unpenitent," — Wesley's  Journal. 


62 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


thing  which  unites  them  to  God ;  that  is,  the  only  thing 
which  moves  the  Lamb  of  God  to  have  compassion  upon 
them,  and  by  his  blood  to  give  them  access  to  the  Father. 

"  This  is  the  word  of  reconciliation  which  we  preach. 
This  is  the  foundation  which  never  can  be  moved.  By  faith 
we  are  built  upon  this  foundation:  and  this  faith  also  is 
the  gift  of  God.  It  is  his  free  gift,  which  he  now  and 
ever  giveth  to  every  one  that  is  willing  to  receive  it.  And 
when  they  have  received  this  gift  of  God,  then  their  hearts 
will  melt  for  sorrow  that  they  have  oifended  him.  But 
this  gift  of  God  hves  in  the  heart,  not  in  the  head.  The 
faith  of  the  head,  learned  from  men  or  books,  is  nothing 
worth.  It  brings  neither  remission  of  sins,  nor  peace  with 
God.  Labour  then  to  believe  with  your  whole  heart.  So 
shall  you  have  redemption  through  the  blood  of  Christ. 
So  shall  you  be  cleansed  from  all  sin.  So  shall  ye  go  on 
from  strength  to  strength,  being  renewed  day  by  day  in 
righteousness  and  all  true  holiness."* 

"  I  would  gladly,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  have  spent  my  life 
here  ;  but  my  Master  calling  me  to  labour  in  another  part  of 
his  vineyard,  I  was  constrained  to  take  my  leave  of  this 
happy  place.  O  when  shall  this  Christianity  cover  the 
earth,  as  the  '  waters  cover  the  sea  1' "  He  adds  in  another 
place,  "  I  was  exceedingly  comforted  and  strengthened  by 
the  conversation  of  this  lovely  people ;  and  returned  to 
England  more  fully  determined  to  spend  my  life  in  testi- 
fying the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God."* 

He  arrived  in  London  in  September,  1738.  His  future 
course  of  life  does  not  appear  to  have  been  shaped  out 
in  his  mind ;  no  indication  of  this  appears  in  any  of  his 
letters,  or  other  communication  :  so  little  ground  is  there 
for  the  insinuation,  which  has  been  so  often  made,  that  he 
early  formed  the  scheme  of  making  himself  the  head  of  a 
sect.  This,  even  those  inconsistencies,  considering  him 
as  a  churchman,  into  which  circumstances  afterwards 
impelled  him,  sufficiently  refute.  That  he  was  averse  to 
settle  as  a  parish  minister  is  certain ;  and  the  man  who 
regarded  "  the  world  as  his  parish,"  must  have  had  large 
views  of  usefulness.  That  he  kept  in  mind  the  opinion  of 
the  bishop  who  ordained  him,  that  he  was  at  liberty  to 
♦  Journal. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEV. 


63 


decline  settling  as  a  parish  priest,  provided  he  thought 
that  he  could  serve  the  church  better  in  any  other  way, 
is  very  probable ;  and  if  he  had  any  fixed  purpose  at  all, 
at  this  time,  beyond  what  circumstances  daily  opened  to 
him,  and  from  which  he  might  infer  the  path  of  duty,  it 
was  to  attempt  to  revive  the  spirit  of  religion  in  the  church 
to  which  he  belonged  and  which  he  loved,  by  preaching 
"  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God"  in  as  many  of  her  pul- 
pits as  he  should  be  permitted  to  occupy.  This  was  the 
course  he  pursued.  Wherever  he  was  invited,  he  preached 
the  obsolete  doctrine  of  salvation  by  grace  through  faith. 
In  London  great  crowds  followed  him ;  the  clergy  gene- 
rally excepted  to  his  statement  of  the  doctrine  ;  the  gen- 
teeler  part  of  his  audiences,  whether  they  attended  to  the 
sermon  or  not,  Avere  offended  at  the  bustle  of  croAvded  con- 
gregations ;  and  soon  almost  all  the  churches  of  the  me- 
tropolis, one  after  another,  were  shut  against  him.  He 
had,  however,  largely  laboured  in  various  parts  of  the 
metropolis  in  churches,  rooms,  houses,  and  prisons ;  and 
the  effects  produced  were  powerful  and  lasting.  Soon  after, 
we  find  him  at  Oxford,  emplo3'ed  in  writing  to  his  friends 
abroad,  communicating  the  good  news  of  a  great  awaken- 
ing both  in  London  and  in  that  city.  To  Dr.  Koker,  of 
Rotterdam,  he  Avrites,  Oct.  13,  1738;  "  His  blessed  Spirit 
has  wrought  so  powerfully  both  in  London  and  Oxford, 
that  there  is  a  general  awakening,  and  multitudes  are  cry- 
ing out,  WTiat  must  we  do  to  be  saved  ?  So  that  till  our 
gracious  Master  sendeth  more  labourers  into  his  harvest, 
all  my  time  is  much  too  little  for  them."  And  to  the  church 
at  Hernhuth,  he  writes  imder  the  same  date  :  "  We  are 
endeavouring  here,  also,  by  the  grace  which  is  given  us, 
to  be  followers  of  you,  as  ye  are  of  Christ.  Fourteen 
were  added  to  us  since  our  return ;  so  that  we  have  now 
eight  bands  of  men,  consisting  of  fifty-six  persons,  all  of 
whom  seek  for  salvation  only  in  the  blood  of  Christ.  As 
yet  we  have  only  two  small  bands  of  women,  the  one  of 
three,  the  other  of  five  persons.  But  here  are  many  others 
who  only  wait  till  we  have  leisure  to  instruct  them  how 
they  may  most  effectually  build  up  one  another  in  the 
faith  and  love  of  Him  who  gave  himself  for  them. 

"  Though  my  brother  and  I  are  not  permitted  to  preach 


64 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


in  most  of  the  churches  in  London,  yet,  thanks  be  to  God, 
there  are  others  left,  wherein  we  iiavc  liberty  to  speak  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Likewise  every  evening,  and  on  set 
evenings  in  the  week,  at  two  several  places,  we  publish  the 
•word  of  reconciliation,  sometimes  to  twenty  or  thirty, 
sometimes  to  fifty  or  sixty,  sometimes  to  three  or  four 
hundred  persons,  met  together  to  hear  it." 

In  December  he  met  Mr.  Whitefield,  who  had  returned 
to  London  from  America,  "  and  they  again  took  sweet 
counsel  together."  In  the  spring  of  the  next  year,  he 
followed  Mr.  Whitefield  to  Bristol,  vvhere  he  had  preached 
with  great  success  in  the  open  air.  Mr.  Wesley  first  ex- 
pounded to  a  little  society,*  accustomed  to  meet  in  Ni- 

*  The  "  Societies"  which  Mr.  Wesley  mentions  in  his  journals  as 
■visited  by  liim,  for  the  purpose  of  expountliiig  the  Scriptures,  in  Lon- 
don and  Bristol,  were  the  remains  of  those  which  Dr.  Woodward  de- 
scribes, in  an  account  first  pubUshed  about  1698  or  1699.  Tliey  be- 
gan about  the  year  1667,  among  a  few  young  men  in  London,  who, 
under  Dr.  Horneck's  preaching,  and  the  morning  lectures  in  Uornliill, 
were  brought,  says  Dr.  Woodward,  "  to  a  very  affecting  sense  of  their 
sins,  and  began  to  apply  themselves  in  a  very  serious  way  to  religious 
thoughts  and  purposes  "  They  were  advised  by  their  ministers  to 
meet  together  weekly  for "  good  discourse;"  and  rules  were  drawn 
up  "  for  the  better  regulation  of  these  meetings."  They  contributed 
weekly  for  the  use  of  the  poor,  and  stewards  were  appointed  to  take 
care  of  and  to  disburse  their  charities.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  reign 
of  James  II.,  they  met  with  discouragement ;  but  on  the  accession  of 
William  and  Mary,  they  acquired  new  vigour.  When  Dr.  Wood- 
ward wrote  his  account,  there  were  about  forty  of  these  societies  in 
activity  within  the  bills  of  mortality,  a  few  in  the  country,  and  nine 
in  Ireland.  Out  of  these  societies  about  twenty  associations  arose, 
in  London,  for  the  prosecution  and  suppression  of  vice ;  and  both 
these,  and  the  private  societies  for  rehgious  edification,  had  for  a  time 
much  encouragement  from  several  bishops,  and  from  the  queen  her- 
self By  their  rules  they  were  obliged,  at  their  weekly  meetings,  to 
discourse  only  on  such  subjects  as  tended  to  practical  hoUness,  and  to 
avoid  all  controversy ;  and  besides  relieving  the  poor,  they  were  to 
promote  schools,  and  the  catechising  of  "  young  and  ignorant  jjersons 
in  their  respective  families."  These  societies  certainly  opened  a  fa- 
vourable prospect  for  the  revival  of  religion  in  the  church  of  England : 
but,  whether  they  were  cramped  by  clerical  jealousy  lest  laymen 
should  become  too  active  in  spiritual  concerns ;  or  that  from  their  be- 
ing bound  by  their  orders  to  prosecute  vice  by  calling  in  the  aid  of  the 
magistrate,  their  moral  influence  among  the  populace  was  counter- 
acted ;  they  appear  to  have  declined  Jrom  about  1710 ;  and  although 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


66 


cholas-street ;  and  the  next  day  he  overcame  his  scruples, 
and  preached  abroad,  on  an  eminence  near  the  city,  to 
more  than  two  thousand  persons.  On  this  practice  he 
observes,  that  though  till  lately  lie  had  been  so  tenacious 
of  every  point  relating  to  decency  and  order,  that  he 
should  have  thought  the  saving  of  souls  almost  a  sin  if 
it  had  not  been  done  in  a  church,  yet  "  I  have  since  seen 
abundant  reason  to  adore  the  wise  providence  of  God 
herein,  making  a  way  for  myriads  of  people,  who  never 
troubled  any  church  or  were  likely  so  to  do,  to  hear  that 
word  which  tliey  soon  found  to  be  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation." 

The  manner  in  which  he  filled  up  his  time,  may  be 
seen  from  the  following  account  of  his  weekly  labours,  at 
this  period,  at  or  near  Bristol.  "  My  ordinary  employ- 
ment in  public  was  now  as  follows.  Every  morning  I 
read  prayers  and  preached  at  Newgate.  Every  evening  I 
expounded  a  portion  of  scripture,  at  one  or  more  of  the 
societies.  On  Monday  in  the  afternoon  I  preached  abroad 
near  Bristol.  On  Tuesday  at  Bath  and  Two  Mile-Hill, 
alternately.  Ou  Wednesday  at  Baptist-Mills.  Every 
other  Tluirsday,  near  Pensford.  Every  other  Friday,  in 
another  part  of  Kingswood.  On  Saturday  in  the  after- 
noon, and  Sunday  morning,  in  the  Bowhng-Green.  On 
Sunday  at  eleven,  near  Hannam-Mount,  at  two  at  Clifton, 
at  five  at  Rose-Green.  And  hitherto,  as  my  day  is,  so  is 
my  strength."* 

During  Mr.  Wesley's  visit  to  Germany,  his  brother  Charles 
was  zealously  employed  in  preaching  the  same  doctrines, 
and  with  equal  zeal,  in  the  churches  in  London ;  and  in 
holding  meetings  for  prayer  and  expounding  the  Scrip- 
tures. At  this  time  he  also  visited  Oxford,  and  was  made 
several  societies  still  remained  in  London,  Bristol,  and  a  few  other 
places,  at  the  time  when  Mr.  Wesley  commenced  his  labours,  they 
were  not  in  a  state  of  growth  and  activity.  They  had,  however,  been 
the  means  of  keeping  the  spark  of  piety  from  entire  extinction.  The 
sixth  edition  of  Dr.  Woodward's  account  of  these  societies  was  pub- 
lished in  1714;  bvil  from  that  time  -ve  hear  no  more  cf  them;  they 
either  gradually  died  away,  or  were  absorbed  in  the  Methodist  socie- 
ties. This,  at  le;ist.  was  the  case  with  several  of  them  in  London 
and  Bristol ;  and  with  that  of  St.  Ives,  in  Cornwall. 

*  Journal. 
7 


66 


LIFE  OK  WESLEY. 


useful  to  several  of  his  old  college  friends.  When  his 
brother  returned  from  Hernhuth,  he  met  him  willi  great 
joy  in  London,  and  they  "  compared  their  experience  in 
the  things  of  God."  The  doctrine  Of  predestination  on 
which  so  many  disputes  have  arisen  in  the  church,  and 
which  was  soon  to  be  warmly  debated  among  the  first 
Methodists,  was  soon  after  started  at  a  meeting  for  expo- 
sition. Mr.  Charles  contented  himself  with  simply  pro- 
testing against  it.  He  now  first  began  to  preach  extem- 
pore. In  a  conference  which  tlie  brothers  had  with  the 
bishop  of  London  they  cleared  up  some  complaints  as  to 
their  doctrine  which  he  had  received  against  them,  and 
were  upon  tlie  whole  treated  by  him  with  liberality.  He 
strongly  disapproved,  however,  of  their  practice  of  re- 
baptizing  persons  who  had  been  baptized  by  Dissenters, 
in  which  they  exhibited  the  firm  hold  which  their  high 
church  feelings  still  retained  upon  their  minds.  His 
lordship  showed  himself,  in  this  respect,  not  only  more 
liberal,  but  better  versed  in  ecclesiastical  law  and  usage. 
The  bishop  at  this,  and  at  otlier  interviews,  guarded  them 
strongly  against  Antinomianism,  of  which,  however,  they 
were  in  no  danger.  He  was  probably  alarmed,  as  many 
had  been,  at  the  stress  they  laid  on  faith,  not  knowing  the 
necessary  connexion  of  the  faith  they  preached  with  uni- 
versal holiness.  Mr.  Whitefield  was  at  this  time  at  Ox- 
ford, and  pressed  Charles  earnestly  to  accept  a  c(^llege 
living;  which,  as  Dr.  Whitehead  justly  observes,  "gives 
pretty  clear  evidence  that  no  plan  of  itinerant  preaching 
was  yet  fixed  on,  nor  indeed  thought  of:  had  any  such 
plan  been  in  agitation  among  them,  it  is  very  certain  Mr. 
Whitefield  would  not  have  urged  this  advice  on  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley,  whom  he  loved  as  a  brother,  and  whose 
labours  he  highly  esteemed."* 

About  this  time  some  disputes  took  place,  in  the  Fetter- 
Lane  society,  as  to  lay-preaching,  and  Mr.  Charles  Wes- 
ley, in  the  absence  of  his  brother,  declared  warmly  against 
it.  He  had  also,  whilst  Mr.  John  Wesley  was  still  at 
Bristol,  a  painful  interview  at  Lambeth,  with  the  arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury.  His  grace  took  nr  exceptions  to 
his  dootrine  but  condemned  the  irregularity  of  his  pro- 
♦  Whitehead's  Life  . 


LITE  OP  WESLEY. 


07 


ceedings,  and  even  hinted  at  proceeding  to  excommunica- 
lion.  Tliis  threw  him  into  great  perplexity  of  mind,  un- 
til Mr.  Whitefield,  with  characteristic  boldness,  urged  him 
to  preach  '•  in  the  fields  the  next  Sunday:  by  which  step 
he  would  break  down  the  bridge,  render  his  retreat  diffi- 
cult or  impossible,  and  be  forced  to  fight  his  way  forward." 
This  advice  he  followed.  "June  24th,  I  prayed,"  says 
he,  "  and  went  forth  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.  1  found 
near  a  thousand  helpless  sinners  waiting  for  the  word  in 
Moorfields.  I  invited  them  in  my  master's  words,  as  well 
as  name  :  Come  unto  me,  alt  ijC  that  labour  and  are  heavy- 
laden  ;  and  I  icilL  give  you  rest.  The  Lord  was  with  me, 
even  me,  the  meanest  of  his  messengers,  according  to  his 
promise.  At  St.  Paul's,  the  psalms,  lessons,  &c.  for  the 
day,  put  new  life  into  me:  and  so  did  the  sacrament. 
My  load  was  gone,  and  all  my  doubts  and  scruples.  God 
shone  on  my  path,  and  I  knew  this  was  his  will  concern- 
ing me.  I  walked  to  Kennington  Common,  and  cried  to 
multitudes  upon  multitudes.  Repent  ye,  and  believe  the 
Gospel.  The  Lord  was  my  strength,  and  my  mouth,  and 
my  wisdom.  O  that  all  would  therefore  praise  the  Lord 
for  his  goodness  '" 

At  Oxford  also,  he  had  to  sustain  the  severity  of  the 
dean  on  the  subject  of  field-preaching  ;  but  he  seized  the 
opportunity  of  bearing  his  testimony  to  the  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith,  by  preachnig  with  great  boldness 
before  the  university.  On  his  return  to  London,  he  re- 
sumed field-preaching  in  Moorfields,  and  on  Kennington 
Common.  At  one  lime  it  was  computed  that  as  many  as 
ten  thousand  persons  were  collected,  and  great  numbers 
were  roused  to  a  serious  inquiry  after  religion.  His  word 
was  occasionally  attended  witli  an  overwhelming  influ- 
ence. 

That  great  public  attention  should  be  excited  by  these 
extraordinary  and  novel  proceedings  ;  and  that  the  digni- 
taries of  the  church,  and  the  advocates  of  stillness  and 
order,  should  take  the  alarm  at  them,  as  "  doubting  where- 
unto  this  thing  might  grow,"  were  inevitable  consequen- 
ces. A  doctrine  so  obsolete,  that  on  its  revival  it  was  re- 
garded as  new  and  dangerous,  was  now  publicly  proclaim- 
ed as  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles  and  reformers}  the 


68 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


consciousness  of  forgiveness  of  sins  was  professed  by  ma- 
ny, and  enforced  as  the  possible  attainment  of  all ;  several 
clergymen  of  lalents  and  learning,  whicli  would  have  gi- 
ven influence  to  any  cause,  endued  with  mighty  zeal,  and 
with  a  restless  activity,  instead  of  settling  in  parishes, 
were  preaching  in  various  clrurches  and  private  rooms, 
and  to  vast  muUitudes  in  the  open  air,  alternately  in  the 
metropolis,  and  at  Bristol,  Oxford,  and  the  interjacent 
places.  They  alarmed  the  careless  by  bringing  before 
them  the  solemnities  of  the  last  judgment ;  they  explain- 
ed the  spirituality  of  that  law,  upon  which  the  self-right- 
eous trusted  for  salvation,  and  convinced  them  tiiat  the 
justification  of  man  was  by  the  grace  of  God  alone  through 
faith  ;  and  they  roused  the  dozing  adlierents  of  mere 
forms,  by  teaching  that  true  religion  implies  a  change  of 
the  whole  heart  wrought  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  With  equal 
zeal  and  earnestness,  they  checked  tlie  pruriency  of  the 
Calvinistic  system,  as  lield  by  many  Dissenters,  by  insist- 
ing that  the  law  which  cannot  justify,  was  still  the  rule  of 
life,  and  the  standard  of  holiness  to  all  true  believers ;  and 
taught  that  mere  doctrinal  views  of  evangelical  truth, 
however  correct,  were  quite  as  vain  and  unprofitable  as 
Pharisaism  and  formality,  when  made  a  substitute  for 
vital  faith,  spirituality,  and  practical  holiness.  All  this 
zeal  was  supported  and  made  more  noticeable,  by  the 
moral  elevation  of  their  character.  Their  conduct  was 
scrupulously  hallowed ;  their  spirit,  gentle,  tender,  and 
sympathizing ;  their  courage,  bold  and  undaunted ;  their 
patience,  proof  against  all  reproach,  hardsliips,  persecu- 
tions ;  their  charities  to  the  poor  unbounded  to  the  full 
extent  of  all  their  resources  ;  their  labours  were  wholly 
gratiiitous ;  and  their  wonderful  activity,  and  endurance 
of  the  fatigues  of  rapid  travelling,  seemed  to  destroy  the 
distance  of  place,  and  to  give  them  a  sort  of  ubiquity  in 
the  vast  circuit  wliich  they  had  then  adopted  as  the  field 
of  their  labours.  For  all  these  reasons,  they  "  were  men 
to  be  wondered  at,"  even  in  this  the  infancy  of  their  ca- 
reer ;  and  as  their  ardour  was  increased  by  the  effects 
which  followed,  the  conversion  of  great  numbers  to  God, 
of  which  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  was  afforded,  it 
disappointed  those  who  anticipated  that  their  zeal  would 


LIFB  OP  WESLEY. 


69 


soon  cool,  and  that,  "  shorn  of  their  strength"  by  opposi- 
tion, reproach,  and  exhausting  labours,  tliey  would  be- 
come "  like  otlier  men." 

An  infidel  or  semi-christian  philosophy  has  its  theo- 
ries at  hand  to  account  for  the  appearance  and  conduct  of 
such  extraordinary  men.  If  their  own  supposed  "  arti- 
fices," and  the  "  temptation  to  place  themselves  at  the  head 
of  a  sect,"  will  not  solve  the  case  ;  it  then  resorts  "  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  age,"  or  to  "  that  restless  activity 
and  ambition"  wliich  finds  in  them  "  a  promising  spliere  of 
action,  and  is  attracted  onward  by  its  first  successes." 
Even  many  serious  churchmen  of  later  times,  who  contend 
that  the  great  men  of  the  reformation  were  raised  up 
by  divine  Providence  in  mercy  to  the  world,  are  kept 
by  sectarian  prejudices  from  acknowledging  a  similar 
providential  leading  in  the  case  of  the  Wesleys,  White- 
field,  and  Howell  Harris,  because  the  whole  of  the  good 
effected  has  not  rested  within  their  own  pale,  and  all  the 
sheep  collected  out  of  the  wilderness  have  not  been 
gathered  into  their  own  fold.  The  sober  Christian  will, 
however,  resort  to  the  first  principles  of  his  own  religion 
in  order  to  form  his  judgment.  He  will  acknowledge 
that  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  has  the  prerogative  of  "  send- 
ing forth  his  labourers  ;"  that  men  who  change  the  reli- 
gious aspect  of  whole  nations  cannot  be  the  offspring  of 
chance,  or  the  creation  of  circumstances  ;  thai,  whatever 
there  may  be  of  personal  fitness  in  them  for  the  work,  as 
in  the  eminent  natural  and  acquired  talents  of  St.  Paul; 
and  whatever  there  may  be  in  circumstances  to  favour 
their  usefulness,  these  things  do  not  shut  out  the  special 
agency  of  God,  but  make  it  thj  more  manifest";  since  the 
first  more  strikingly  marks  his  agency  in  preparing  his 
own  servants,  ani  training  his  soldiers  ;  and  the  second, 
his  wisdom  in  choosing  the  times  of  their  appearance,  and 
the  scenes  of  their  labours,  and  thus  setting  before  them 
"  an  open  door,  and  effectual."  Nor  can  it  be  allowed,  if 
we  abide  by  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures,  that  a  real  spi- 
ritual good  could  have  been  so  extensively  and  uniformly 
effected,  and  "  multitudes  turned  to  the  Lord,"  unless  God 
had  been  with  tlie  instruments,  seconding  their  labours, 
and  "  giving  his  own  testimony  to  the  word  of  his  grace," 


70 


LIFE  OF  WTISLEY. 


The  hand  of  God  is  equally  conspicuous  in  connecting 
the  leading  events  of  their  earlier  history  with  their  future 
usefulness.  They  were  men  "  separated  to  the  Gospel  of 
God ;"  and  every  devout  and  grateful  Christian  will  not 
cease  to  recognize  in  their  appearance,  labours,  and  suc- 
cesses, the  mercy  of  God  to  a  land  where  "  truth  had 
fallen  in  the  streets,"  and  the  people  were  sitting  in  dark- 
ness, and  in  the  shadow  of  death. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

We  left  Mr.  Wesley  at  Bristol,  in  the  summer  of  1739, 
lo  which  scene  of  labour,  after  a  visit  to  London,  he  again 
returned.  Kingswood  was  mentioned  in  the  account  given 
by  Mr.  Wesley,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  of  his  labours ; 
and  in  this  district,  inhabited  by  colliers,  and,  from  its 
rudeness,  a  terror  to  the  neighbourhood,  the  preaching  of 
the  two  brothers  and  of  Mr.  Whitefield  was  eminently 
successful.  Tlie  colliers  were  even  proverbial  for  wick- 
edness ;  but  many  of  them  became  truly  exemplary  for 
their  piety.  Tliese  had  been  exhorted,  it  seems,  to  go  to 
Bristol  to  receive  the  sacrament ;  but  their  numbers  were 
so  considerable  that  the  Bristol  clergy,*  averse  to  the  ad- 
ditional labour  imposed  upon  them,  repelled  them  from 
the  communion,  on  the  plea  that  they  did  not  belong  to 
their  parishes. 

The  effect  of  the  leaven  which  had  been  thus  placed  In 
ftiis  mass  of  barbarism  was  made  conspicuous  in  the  fol- 
lowing year,  in  the  case  of  a  riot,  of  which  Mr.  Charles 
Wesley  gives  the  folloAving  account.    Being  informed 

♦  Several  of  the  Bristol  clergy  were  at,  that  time  of  a  persecuting 
character.  They  induced  a  Captain  Williams,  the  master  of  a  vessel 
trading  to  Georgia  ,  to  make  an  affidavit  of  some  statements  to  the  dis- 
advantage of  Mr.  Wesley,  in  the  affair  of  Mrs.  Williamson ;  but  they 
took  care  that  he  should  set  sail  tefore  tliey  published  it.  This  led  to 
the  publication  of  Mr.  Wesley's  first  journal,  as  he  states  in  the  pre- 
face. In  that  journal  he  gave  his  own  account  of  the  matter,  «ad 
they  were  alenceJ. 


LIFE  OF  WE3LET. 


71 


that  the  colliers  had  risen,  on  account  of  the  deamess  of 
corn,  and  were  marching  for  Bristol,  he  rode  out  to  meet 
them,  and  talk  with  them.  Many  seemed  disposed  to 
return  with  him  to  the  scliool  which  had  been  built  for 
their  children ;"  but  the  most  desperate  rushed  violently 
upon  them,  beating  them,  and  driving  them  away  from 
their  pacific  adviser.  He  adds,  "  I  rode  up  to  a  ruffian, 
who  was  striking  one  of  our  colliers,  and  prayed  him 
rather  to  strike  me.  He  answered,  '  No,  not  for  all  the 
world,'  and  was  quite  overcome.  I  turned  upon  another, 
who  struck  my  horse,  and  he  also  sunk  into  a  lamb. 
Wherever  I  turned,  Satan's  cause  lost  ground,  so  tliat 
they  were  obliged  to  make  one  general  assault,  and  the 
violent  colliers  forced  thje  quiet  ones  into  the  town.  I 
seized  one  of  the  tallest,  and  earnestly  besought  him  to 
follow  me.  Yes,  he  said,  that  he  would,  all  the  world 
over.  I  pressed  about  six  into  the  service.  We  met  se- 
veral parties,  and  stopped  and  exhorted  them  to  follow 
us;  and  gleaning  some  from  every  company,  we  increa 
sed  as  we  marclicd  on  singing  to  tlie  school.  From  one 
till  three  o'clock  we  spent  in  prayer,  that  evil  might  be 
prevented,  and  the  lion  chained.  Then  news  was  brought 
us  that  the  colliers  were  returned  in  peace.  They  had 
walked  quietly  into  the  city,  without  sticks  or  the  least 
violence.  A  few  of  the  better  sort  of  them  went  to  the 
mayor,  and  told  their  grievance  ;  then  they  all  returned 
as  they  came,  without  noise  or  disturbance.  All  who  saw 
it  were  amazed.  Nothing  could  more  clearly  have  shown 
the  change  wrought  among  them  than  this  conduct  on 
such  an  occasion.  "  I  found  afterwards  that  all  our  col- 
liers to  a  man  had  been  forced  away.  Having  learned  of 
Christ  not  to  resist  evil,  they  went  a  mile  with  those  who 
compelled  them,  rather  than  free  themselves  by  violence. 
One  man  the  rioters  dragged  out  of  his  sick  bed,  and 
threw  him  into  the  fish  pond.  Near  twenty  of  Mr.  Wil- 
lis's men  they  had  prevailed  on,  by  threatening  to  fill  up 
their  pits,  and  bury  them  alive  if  they  did  not  come  up 
and  bear  them  company." — "  It  was  a  liapp}-  circumstance 
that  they  forced  so  many  of  the  Methodist  colliers  to  go 
with  them  ;  as  these,  by  their  advice  and  example,  re- 
strained  the  savage  fury  of  the  others.   This  undoubtedly 


72 


LIFE  OF  WEgLET. 


was  the  true  cause  why  they  all  returned  home  without 
makuig  any  disturbance." 

To  a  gentleman  who  requested  some  account  of  what 
had  been  done  in  Kingswood,  Mr.  John  Wesley  wrote  the 
following  statement : — 

"  Few  persons  have  lived  long  in  the  west  of  England 
who  have  not  heard  of  the  colliers  of  Kingswood,  a  people 
famous,  from  the  beginning  hitherto,  for  neither  fearing 
God  nor  regarding  man  ;  so  ignorant  of  the  things  of  God, 
that  they  seemed  but  one  remove  from  beasts  that  perish, 
and  therefore  utterly  without  the  desire  of  instruction,  as 
well  as  without  the  means  of  it. 

"  Many  last  winter  used  tauntingly  to  say  of  Mr.  White- 
field,  '  If  he  will  convert  heathens,  why  does  not  he  go  to 
the  colliers  of  Kingswood  V  In  the  spring  he  did  so. 
And  as  there  were  thousands  who  resorted  to  no  place  of 
public  worship,  he  went  after  them  into  their  own  '  wil- 
derness, to  seek  and  save  that  Avhich  was  lost.'  When  he 
was  called  away,  others  went  into  '  the  highM'ays  and 
hedges,  to  compel  them  to  come  in.'  And,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  their  labour  was  not  in  vain.  The  scene  is  al- 
ready changed.  Kingswood  docs  not  now,  as  a  year  ago, 
resound  with  cursing  and  blasphemy.  It  is  no  more  filled 
with  drunkenness  and  uncleannes?,  and  tiie  idle  diversions 
that  naturally  lead  thereto.  It  is  no  longer  full  of  wars 
and  fightings,  of  clamour  and  bitterness,  of  wrath  and 
envyings.  Peace  and  love  are  there.  Great  numbers 
of  the  people  are  mild,  gentle,  and  easy  to  be  entreated. 
They  '  do  not  cry,  neither  strive  ;'  and  hardly  is  '  their 
voice  heard  in  tlie  streets,'  or  indeed  in  their  own  wood, 
unless  when  they  are  at  their  usual  evening  diversion, 
singing  praise  unto  God  their  Saviour." 

At  this  time  Mr.  Wesley  visited  Bath,  where  the  cele- 
brated Beau  Nash,  then  lord  of  the  ascendant  in  that  city, 
attempted  to  confront  the  field-preacher. 

"  There  was  great  expectation  at  Bath,  of  what  a  noted 
man  was  to  do  to  me  there :  and  I  was  much  entreated 
'  not  to  preach  ;  because  no  one  knew  what  might  hap- 
pen.' By  tliis  report  I  also  gained  a  much  larger  au^ 
dience,  among  whom  were  many  of  the  rich  and  great. 
I  told  them  plainly,  the  scripture  had  concluded  them  all 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


73 


under  sin,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  one  with  another. 
Many  of  them  seemed  to  be  not  a  little  surprised,  and 
were  sinking  apace  into  seriousness,  when  their  champion 
appeared,  and,  coming  close  to  me,  asked  by  what  autho- 
rity I  did  these  things.  I  replied,  By  the  authority  of 
Jesus  Christ,  conveyed  to  me  by  the  (now)  archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  when  he  laid  his  hands  upon  me,  and  said, 
'  Take  thou  authority  to  preach  the  gospel.'  He  said, 
'  This  is  contrary  to  act  of  Parliament.  This  is  a  con- 
venticle.' I  answered,  '  Sir,  tlie  conventicles  mentioned 
in  tliat  act  (as  the  preamble  shows)  are  seditious  meet- 
ings. But  this  is  not  such.  Here  is  no  shadow  of  sedi- 
tion. Therefore  it  is  not  contrary  to  that  act.'  He  re- 
plied, '  I  say  it  is.  And  beside,  your  preaching  frightens 
people  out  of  their  wits.'  '  Sir,  did  you  ever  hear  me 
preach  V  '  No.'  '  How  then  can  you  judge  of  what  you 
never  heard  V  '  Sir,  by  common  report.  Common  re- 
port is  enough.'  '  Give  me  leave,  Sir,  to  ask.  Is  not  your 
name  Nash  ?'  '  My  name  is  Nash.'  '  Sir,  I  dare  not 
judge  of  you  by  common  report.  I  think  it  is  not  enough 
to  judge  by.'  Here  he  paused  a  while,  and  having  reco- 
vered himself,  asked,  '  I  desire  to  know  what  this  people 
come  here  for  ?'  On  which  one  replied,  '  Sir,  leave  him 
to  me.  Let  an  old  woman  answer  him.'  '  You,  Mr. 
Nash,  take  care  of  your  body.  We  take  care  of  our  souls, 
and  for  the  good  of  our  souls  we  come  here.'  He  replied 
not  a  word,  but  walked  away. 

"  As  I  returned,  the  street  was  full  of  people,  hurrying 
to  and  fro,  and  speaking  great  words.  But  when  any  of 
them  asked,  '  Which  is  he  V  and  I  replied,  '  I  am  he,' 
they  were  immediately  silent.  Several  ladies  following 
me  into  Mr.  Merchant's  house,  the  servant  told  me,  there 
were  some  wanted  to  speak  with  me."  I  went  to  them, 
and  said,  '  I  believe,  ladies,  the  maid  mistook ;  you  only 
wanted  to  look  at  me.'  I  added,  '  I  do  not  expect  that 
the  rich  and  great  should  want  either  to  speak  with  me, 
or  to  hear  we,  for  I  speak  the  plain  truth ;  a  thing  yori 
hear  little  of,  and  do  not  desire  to  hear.'  A  few  more 
words  passed  between  us,  and  I  retired."* 

After  visiting  London,  and  preaching  to  vast  multitudes 
♦  Journal. 


74 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


in  Moorfields,  on  Kennington  Common,  and  other  places, 
some  of  whom  were  strangely  affected,  and  many  effec- 
tually awakened  to  a  sense  of  sin,  in  October  Mr.  Wes- 
ley had  a  pressing  invitation  to  Wales,  where,  although 
the  churches  were  shut  against  him,  he  preached  in  pri- 
vate houses,  and  in  the  open  air,  often  during  sharp 
frosts,  and  was  gladly  received  by  the  people.  "  I  have 
seen,"  says  he,  "  no  part  of  England  so  pleasant,  for  sixty 
or  seventy  miles  together,  as  those  parts  of  Wales  I  have 
been  in ;  and  most  of  the  inhabitants  are  indeed  ripe  for 
the  gospel.  I  mean,  if  the  expression  seems  strange,  they 
are  earnestly  desirous  of  being  instructed  in  it ;  and  aa 
utterly  ignorant  of  it  they  are  as  any  Creek  or  Chero- 
kee Indians.  I  do  not  mean  they  are  ignorant  of  the 
name  of  Christ ;  many  of  them  can  say  both  the  Lord's 
prayer  and  the  belief;  nay,  and  some,  all  the  catechism; 
but  take  them  out  of  the  road  of  what  they  have  learned 
by  rote,  and  they  know  no  more  (nine  in  ten  of  those 
with  whom  I  conversed)  either  of  gospel  salvation,  or  of 
that  faith  whereby  alone  we  are  saved,  than  Chicali  or 
Tomo  Chachi.  Now  what  spirit  is  he  of  who  had  rather 
these  poor  creatures  should  perish  for  lack  of  knowledge 
than  that  they  should  be  saved,  even  by  the  exhortations 
of  Howell  Harris,  or  an  itinerant  preacher?  The  word 
did  not  fall  to  the  ground.  Many  repented,  and  believed 
the  gospel.  And  some  joined  together  to  strengthen  each 
other's  hands  in  God,  and  to  provoke  one  another  to  love 
and  to  good  works."* 

About  this  time  he  stated  his  doctrinal  views  in  per- 
haps as  clear  a  manner,  though  in  a  summary  form,  as  at 
any  period  subsequently : — 

"  A  serious  clergyman  desired  to  know  in  what  points 
we  differed  from  the  church  of  England.  I  answered, 
To  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  in  none ;  the  doctrines  we 
preach  are  the  doctrine  of  the  church  of  England,  indeed 
the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  church  clearly  laid  down 
both  in  her  prayers,  articles,  and  homilies. 

"  He  asked,  '  In  what  points  then  do  you  differ  from  the 
other  clergy  of  the  church  of  England?'  I  answered, 
lu  none  from  that  part  of  the  clergy  who  adhere  to  the 
♦  Journal. 


LIFE  OP  WESLET. 


75 


doctrines  of  the  church;  but  from  that  part  of  the  clergy 
who  dissent  from  the  church  (though  they  own  it  not)  I 
differ  in  the  points  following: — 

"First,  They  speak  of  justification,  either  as  the  same 
thing  with  sanctification,  or  as  something  consequent  upon 
it.  I  beheve  justification  to  be  wholly  distinct  from  sanc- 
tification, and  necessarily  antecedent  to  it. 

"Secondly,  They  speak  of  our  own  holiness  or  good 
works  as  the  cause  of  our  justification,  or  that  for  the 
sake  of  which,  on  account  of  which,  we  are  justified  before 
God.  I  believe,  neither  our  own  holiness  nor  good  works 
are  any  part  of  the  cause  of  our  justification ;  but  that 
the  death  and  righteousness  of  Christ  are  the  whole  and 
sole  cause  of  it,  or  that  for  the  sake  of  which,  on  account 
of  which,  we  are  justified  before  God. 

"  Thirdly,  They  speak  of  good  works  as  a  condition  of 
justification,  necessarily  previous  to  it.  I  believe,  no  good 
work  can  be  previous  to  justification,  nor,  consequently,  a 
condition  of  it ;  but  that  we  are  justified  (being  till  that  hour 
ungodly,  and  therefore  incapable  of  doing  any  good  work) 
by  faith  alone;  faith,  without  works;  faith,  though  pro- 
ducing all,  yet  including  no  good  works. 

"  Fourthly,  They  speak  of  sanctification,  or  holiness,  as 
if  it  were  an  outward  thing;  as  if  it  consisted  chiefly,  if 
not  wholly,  in  these  two  points:  1.  The  doing  no  harm: 
2.  The  doing  good,  as  it  is  called;  that  is,  the  using  the 
means  of  grace,  and  helping  our  neighbour. 

"  I  believe  it  to  be  an  inward  thing,  namely,  'the  life  of 
God  in  the  soul  of  man;  a  participation  of  the  divine  na- 
ture ;  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ ;'  or,  '  the  renewal  of 
our  heart  after  the  image  of  Him  that  created  us.' 

"  Lastly,  They  speak  of  the  new  birth  as  an  outward 
thing ;  as  if  it  were  no  more  than  baptism,  or,  at  most,  a 
change  from  outward  wickedness  to  outward  goodness, 
from  a  vicious  to  what  is  called  a  virtuous  life.  I  believe 
it  to  be  an  inward  thing;  a  change  from  inward  wicked- 
ness to  inward  goodness;  an  entire  change  of  our  inmost 
nature  from  the  image  of  the  devil,  wherein  we  are  born, 
to  the  image  of  God ;  a  change  from  the  love  of  the  crea- 
ture to  the  love  of  the  Creator,  from  earthly  and  sensual 
to  heavenly  and  holy  affections;  in  a  word,  a  change  from 


76 


LIFE  OF  WESLET. 


the  tempers  of  tlie  spirits  of  darkness  to  those  of  the  angels 
of  God  in  heaven. 

"There  is  therefore  a  wide,  essential,  fundamental,  irre- 
concilable difference  between  us:  so  that  if  they  speak  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  I  am  found  a  false  witness  before 
God.  But  if  I  teach  the  way  of  God  in  truth,  they  are 
blind  leaders  of  the  blind."* 

Disputes  having  arisen  between  the  Methodists  and 
Moravians,  who  still  formed  one  society  at  Fetter-Lane, 
Mr.  Wesley  returned  to  London.  Over  this  society  he  pro- 
fessed to  have  no  authority,  and,  as  it  appeared,  had  but 
little  influence.  Various  new  doctrines  of  a  mystical  kind, 
which  he  thought  dangerous,  had  been  introduced  by 
several  of  the  teachers;  and  it  seems  he  foresaw  a  separa- 
tion from  them  to  be  inevitable,  for  he  had  taken  a  place 
near  Moorfields,  which  had  been  used  as  a  foundry  for 
casting  cannon;  and  on  this  visit  he  preached  in  it  to  very 
numerous  congregations.  He  was  on  this  and  other  visits 
to  London  unsuccessful  in  settling  the  disputes  which  had 
arisen  in  the  society;  and  in  June,  1740,  he  again  came 
to  London,  and  spent  upwards  of  a  month  among  them, 
occupied  at  intervals  in  the  same  attempt.  His  efforts  be- 
ing fruitless,  he  read  to  them  the  following  paper: — 

"About  nine  months  ago,  certain  of  you  began  to 
speak  contrary  to  the  doctrine  we  had  till  then  received. 
The  sum  of  what  you  asserted  is  this:  1.  That  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  weak  faith:  that  there  is  no  justifying 
faith,  where  there  is  ever  any  doubt  or  fear ;  or  where 
there  is  not,  in  the  full  sense,  a  new,  a  clean  heart. 
2.  That  a  man  ought  not  to  use  those  ordinances  of  God, 
which  our  church  terms  means  of  grace,  before  he  has 
such  a  faith  as  excludes  all  doubt  and  fear,  and  implies  a 
new,  a  clean  heart.  3.  You  have  often  affirmed,  that  to 
searck  the  scriptures,  to  pray,  or  to  communicate,  before 
we  have  this  faith,  is  to  seek  salvation  by  works;  and  till 
these  works  are  laid  aside,  no  man  can  receive  faith. 

"  1  believe  these  assertions  to  be  flatly  contrary  to  the 
word  of  God.  I  have  warned  you  hereof  again  and  again, 
and  besought  you  to  turn  back  to  the  law  and  to  the  tes- 
timony. I  have  borne  with  you  long,  hoping  you  would 
♦Journal. 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


77 


turn.  But  as  I  find  you  more  and  more  confirmed  in  the 
error  of  your  ways,  nothing  now  remains  but  that  I 
should  give  you  up  to  God.  You  that  are  of  the  same 
judgment  follow  me." — "I  then,"  adds  Mr.  Wesley,  "with- 
out saying  any  thing  more,  withdrew,  as  did  eighteen  or 
nineteen  of  the  society." 

Those  who  continued  to  adhere  to  him  then  met  at  the 
foundry,  the  whole  number  amounting  to  about  seventy- 
two.  The  Moravian  teacher  Molther  appears  to  have  been 
the  chief  author  of  the  novel  opinions  objected  to  by  Mr. 
Wesley,  whom  however  Peter  Bohler  thought  Mr.  Wesley 
misunderstood ;  which  was  not  likely,  as  Mr.  Charles 
Wesley  mentions  the  same  things  in  his  journal.  Towards 
the  Moravian  church  at  large,  Mr.  Wesley  continued  to 
feel  an  unabated  affection ;  but  as  he  was  never  a  member 
of  that  church,  and  maintained  only  a  kind  of  co-frater- 
nity with  those  of  them  who  were  in  London,  when  these 
became  infected  with  novel  opinions,  his  departure  from 
them,  with  such  as  were  of  the  same  mind  as  himself,  and 
were  also  members  of  the  cliurcli  of  England,  was  a  step 
of  prudence  and  of  peace.  From  a  conversation  Avhich 
he  had  with  Count  Zinzendorf  a  short  time  afterwards, 
and  which  he  has  published,  it  would  seem  that  a  refined 
species  of  Antinomianism  had  crept  in  amongst  the  Mo- 
ravians ;  and  that  the  count  was  at  that  time  by  no  means 
a  teacher  of  the  class  of  Peter  Bohler.  But,  to  affirm 
with  Zinzendorf  that  there  is  nothing  but  imputed  right- 
eousness, and  to  reject  inherent  righteousness  ; — to  insist 
upon  all  our  perfection  being  in  Christ,  and  to  deny  the 
christian  perfection  or  maturity  which  believers  derive 
from  Him, — was  not  in  accordance  with  the  Moravian 
church,  appears  from  the  following  extract  from  the 
authorized  exposition  of  their  doctrines  by  Spangenberg. 
which,  as  the  perversions  of  these  "wrong  headed  men" 
have  been  mentioned,  it  would  be  unjust  to  the  body  of 
Moravians  to  withhold  : — 

"Although  this  faith,  which  is  so  peculiar  to  all  the 
children  of  God,  that  whoever  has  it  not  is  no  child  of 
God,  does  no  outward  wonders  and  signs,  raises  none  from 
the  dead,  removes  no  mountains,  yet  it  does  and  performs 
other  things,  which  are  of  much  greater  importance. 


78 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


What  are  those  things?  Answer:  We  through  faith  attain 
to  the  enjoyment  of  that  wliich  Christ  hath  by  his  sacri- 
fice purchased  for  lis.  We  are,  (1.)  Through  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  made  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin.  Paul  says, 
'  Sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  you,  for  ye  are  not 
under  the  law,  but  under  grace,'  Rom.  vi.  14. 

"  All  those  who  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  are  freed  from 
the  curse  and  condemnation  of  the  law;  they  obtain  forgive- 
ness of  sins,  become  the  adopted  children  of  God,  and 
are  sealed  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  These  are  they,  then^ 
who  are  made  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  because  they 
are  under  grace.  Now  when  they  are  thus  exhorted,  'Let 
not  sin  reign  in  your  mortal  body,  that  ye  should  obey  it 
in  the  lusts  thereof;  neither  yield  ye  your  members  as 
instruments  of  unrighteousness  unto  sin,'  &c.  Rom.  vi.  12, 
13;  they  cannot  say,  O  that  is  impossible  for  us;  we  are 
but  sinful  men ;  the  flesh  is  weak,  and  the  like.  For 
they  have  Jesus  Christ,  who  saveth  his  people  from  their 
sins ;  they  have  a  Father  in  heaven,  who  heareth  their 
prayer  and  supplication.  The  Holy  Ghost  dwells  in  their 
hearts,  and  strengthens  them  in  all  that  is  good.  If  they 
therefore  do  but  rightly  make  use  of  tlie  grace  wherein 
through  faith  they  stand,  then  sin  can  have  no  dominion 
over  them.  This  is  exactly  what  John  says,  1  Epist.  iii. 
9,  '  Whosoever  is  born  of  God,  doth  not  commit  sin,' 
(he  doth  not  let  sin  reign,  or  have  the  dominion  in  his 
mortal  body,  that  he  should  obey  it  in  the  lusts  thereof,) 
'  for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him  ;  and  he  cannot  sin,  because 
he  is  born  of  God.'  That  is,  his  heart  will  comply  with 
no  such  thing ;  for  he  loves  our  Saviour,  being  a  child  of 
God,  and  a  partaker  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  * 

Not  only  Antinomian  errors,  but  mystic  notions  of  ceas- 
ing from  ordinances,  and  waiting  for  faith  in  stillness, 
greatly  prevailed  also  among  the  Moravians  in  London, 
at  this  time,  and  were  afterwards  carried  by  them  into  ma- 
ny of  the  country  Methodist  societies  in  Yorkshire,  Der- 
byshire, and  other  places.  Of  the  effect  at  Nottingham, 
Mr.  Wesley  gives  a  curious  account  in  his  journal  for 
June,  1743:— 


*  Exposition,  pp.  215,  216, 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


rg 


"In  the  afternoon  we  went  on  to  Nottingimm,  where 
Mr.  Howe  received  us  gladly.  At  eight  the  society  met, 
as  usual.  I  could  not  but  observe,  1.  That  the  room  was 
not  half  full,  which  used,  until  very  lately,  to  be  crowded 
within  and  without.  2.  That  not  one  person  who  came  in 
used  any  prayer  at  all ;  but  every  one  immediately  sat 
down,  and  began  either  talking  to  his  neighbour,  or  look- 
ing about  to  see  who  was  there.  3.  That  when  I  began 
to  pray,  there  appeared  a  general  surprise,  no  one  offer- 
ing to  kneel  down,  and  those  who  stood,  choosing  the 
most  easy,  indolent  posture  which  they  conveniently  could. 
I  afterwards  looked  for  one  of  our  hymn-books  upon  the 
desk,  (for  I  knew  Mr.  Howe  had  brought  one  from  Lon- 
don,) but  both  that  and  the  Bible  were  vanished  away. 
And  in  the  room  lay  the  Moravian  hymns,  and  the  count's 
sermons."  * 

That  incautious  book,  Luther  on  the  Galatians,  appears 
to  have  been  the  source  of  the  Antinoniianism  of  the 
Moravians ;  and  their  quietism  they  learned  from  Madame 
Guion,  and  other  French  mystic  writers. 

The  Methodist  society,  as  that  name  distinguishes  the 
people  who  to  this  day  acknowledge  Mr.  Wesley  as  their 
founder  under  God,  was,  properly  speaking,  as  a  society 
specially  under  his  pastoral  charge,  collected  in  this  year, 
(1740,)  at  the  chapel  in  Moorfields,  where  he  regularly 
preached,  and  where,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  upon  his  and 
Mr.  Charles  Wesley's  labours,  the  society  rapidly  increased. 
For  this,  and  for  the  societies  in  Bristol,  Kingswood,  and 
other  parts,  he,  in  1743,  drew  up  a  set  of  rules,  which 
continue  in  force  to  the  present  time,  and  the  observance 
of  which  was  then,  and  continues  to  be,  the  condition  of 
membership.  They  are  so  well  known  as  to  render  it 
unnecessary  to  quote  them.  It  may  only  be  observed, 
that  they  enjoin  no  peculiar  opinions,  and  relate  entirely 
to  moral  conduct,  to  charitable  offices,  and  to  the  obser- 
vance of  the  ordinances  of  God.  Churchmen  or  dis- 
senters, walking  by  these  rules,  might  become  and  re- 
main members  of  these  societies,  provided  they  held 
their  doctrinal  views  and  disciplinary  prepossessions  in 
peace  and  charity.  The  sole  object  of  the  union  was  to 
*  Journal. 


80 


LIFE  OF  WESLEV. 


assist  the  members  to  "  make  their  calling  and  election 
sure,"  by  cultivating  the  religion  of  the  heart,  and  a  holy 
conformity  to  the  laws  of  Christ.  These  rules  bear  the 
signature  of  John  and  Charles  Wesley. 

Mr.  Wesley's  mother  about  this  time  began  to  attend 
his  ministry.  She  had  been  somewhat  prejudiced  against 
her  sons  by  reports  of  their  "  errors"  and  "  extravagan- 
cies;" but  was  convinced,  upon  hearing  them,  that  they 
spoke  "  according  to  the  oracles  of  God."  There  is  an 
interesting  entry  in  Mr.  Wesley's  journal  respecting  this 
venerable  woman : — 

"September  3,  I  talked  largely  with  my  mother,  who 
told  me,  that,  till  a  short  lime  since,  she  had  scarce  heard 
sucli  a  thing  mentioned  as  the  having  forgiveness  of  sina 
now,  or  God's  Spirit  bearing  witness  with  our  spirit: 
Much  less  did  slie  imagine,  that  this  was  the  commou 
privilege  of  all  true  believers.  '  Therefore,'  said  she,  '  I 
never  durst  ask  for  it  myself.  But  two  or  three  weeks 
ago,  while  my  son  Hall  was  pronouncing  those  words,  in 
delivering  the  cup  to  me,  The  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  which  was  given  for  tliee ;  the  words  struck 
through  my  heart,  and  I  knew  God  for  Christ's  sake  had 
forgiven  me  all  my  sins.' 

"  I  asked,  whether  her  father  (Dr.  Annesley)  had  not 
the  same  faith;  and  whether  she  had  not  heard  him 
preach  it  to  others.  She  answered,  '  He  had  it  himself, 
and  declared  a  little  before  his  death,  that,  for  more  than 
forty  years,  he  had  no  darkness,  no  fear,  no  doubt  at  all 
of  his  being  accepted  in  the  Beloved.''  But  that,  never- 
theless, she  did  not  remember  to  have  heard  him  preach, 
no,  not  once,  explicitly  upon  it:  whence  she  supposed  he 
also  looked  upon  it  as  the  peculiar  blessing  of  a  few,  not 
as  promised  to  all  the  people  of  God."* 

The  extraordinary  manner  in  wliich  some  persons  were 
frequently  affected  under  Mr.  Wesley's  preaching,  as  well 
as  that  of  his  coadjutors,  now  created  much  discussion, 
and  to  many  gave  great  offence.  Some  were  seized  with 
trembling ;  others  sunk  down  and  uttered  loud  and  pier- 
cing cries;  others  fell  into  a  kind  of  agony.  In  some  in- 
stances whilst  prayer  was  offered  for  them,  they  rose  up 
♦Journal. 


LIFK  OF  WEbLKY. 


81 


with  a  sudden  change  of  feeling,  testifying  that  they  had 
"  redemption  through  the  blood  of  Christ,  even  the  for- 
giveness of  sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace." 
Mr.  Samuel  Wesley,  who  denied  the  knowledge  of  the 
forgiveness  of  sins,  treated  these  things,  in  a  correspond- 
ence with  his  brother,  alternately  with  sarcasm  and  seri- 
ous severity,  and  particularly  attacked  the  doctrine  of  as- 
surance. In  this  controversy,  Mr.  John  Wesley  attaches 
no  weight  whatever  to  these  outward  agitations ;  but  con- 
tends that  he  is  bound  to  believe  the  profession  made  by 
many,  who  had  been  so  affected,  of  an  inward  change,  be- 
cause that  had  been  confirmed  by  their  subsequent  conduct 
and  spirit.  On  the  subject  of  assurance,  the  disputants  put 
forth  their  logical  acuteness;  but  the  result  appears  to 
have  been  upon  the  Avhole  instructive  to  the  elder  brother ; 
whose  letters  soften  considerably  towards  the  close  of  the 
dispute.  Mr.  Samuel  Wesley  died  in  the  following  No- 
vember. The  circumstances  to  which  he  objected,  al- 
though he  knew  them  only  by  report,  and  was  too  far  re- 
moved from  the  scene  to  be  an  accurate  judge,  have  since 
that  time  furnished  ample  subject  for  serious  or  satirical 
animadversion  to  many  writers,  and  to  none  more  than  to 
Dr.  Southey.*  A  few  general  remarks  upon  this  point 
may  not  therefore  be  here  out  of  place.  By  this  writer  it 
is  afhrmed,  that  great  importance  was  attached  by  Mr. 
Wesley  to  those  emotions,  and  bodily  affections,  which  oc- 
casionally occurred ;  and  that  the  most  visionary  persons, 
and  those  who  pretended  ecstasies,  dreams,  &c.,  were,  at 
least  in  the  early  part  of  his  ministry,  the  objects  of  his 
special  respect,  as  eminently  holy  and  favoured.  This  is 
so  far  from  the  fact,  that  it  is  difhcult  to  meet  with  a  di- 
vine whose  views  of  religion  are  more  practical  and  defi- 
nite. He  did  not  deny  that  occasionally  "  God,"  even  now, 
"  speaketh  in  a  dream,  in  a  vision  of  the  night,"  and  that 
he  may  thus  "  open  the  ears  of  men  to  instruction,  and 
command  them  to  depart  from  iniquity;"  he  believed  that, 
in  point  of  fact,  many  indisputable  cases  of  this  kind  have 
occurred  in  modern  times ;  and  in  this  belief  he  agreed 
with  many  of  the  wisest  and  the  best  of  men.  He  has  re- 
corded some  cases  of  what  may  be  called  ecstacy,  gene- 
*  Life  of  Wesley. 


82 


MrE    or  WEStiEY. 


rally  without  an  opinion  of  his  own,  leaving  every  one  to 
form  his  own  judgment  from  the  recorded  fact.  He  un- 
questionably believed  in  special  effusions  of  the  influence 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  congregations  and  individuals, 
producing  powerful  emotions  of  mind,  expressed  in  some 
instances  by  bodily  affections ;  and  he  has  furnished  some 
facts  on  which  Dr.  Southey  has  exercised  his  philosophy, 
with  a  success,  probably,  more  satisfactory  to  himself, 
than  convincing  to  his  readers.  But  that  any  thing  extra^ 
ordinary,  either  of  bodily  or  mental  affection,  was  with 
Mr.  Wesley,  at  any  time  of  his  life,  of  itself,  deemed  so  im- 
portant as  to  be  regarded  as  a  mark  of  superior  piety,  is  a 
most  unfounded  assumption.  Those  of  his  sermons  which 
contain  the  doctrines  which  he  deemed  essential;  his 
notes  on  the  New  Testament;  and  the  rules  by  which 
every  member  of  his  societies  was  required  to  be  governed, 
are  sufficiently  in  refutation  of  this  notion.  In  them  no 
reference  is  made  to  any  thing  visionary  as  a  part,  how- 
ever small,  of  true  religion ;  unless,  indeed,  all  spiritual 
religion,  changing  the  heart,  and  sanctifying  the  affec- 
tions, be  thought  visionary.  The  rule  of  admission  into 
his  societies  was  "a  desire  to  fly  from  the  wrath  to  come," 
but  then  tjie  sincerity  of  this  was  to  be  evidenced  by  cor- 
responding "  fruits"  in  the  conduct ;  and  on  this  condi- 
tion only,  further  explained  by  detailed  regulations,  all  of 
them  simple  and  practical,  were  the  members  to  remain 
in  connexion  with  him.  These  rules  are  the  standing 
evidence,  that,  from  the  first  formation  of  tlie  Metho- 
dist societies,  neither  a  speculative  nor  a  visionary 
scheme  of  religion  was  the  basis  of  their  union.  Had 
Mr.  Wesley  placed  religion,  in  the  least,  in  those  cir- 
cumstances, he  Avould  have  set  up  a  very  different  stan-- 
dard  of  doctrine  in  his  sermons;  and  the  rules  of  his 
societies  would  have  borne  an  equivocal  and  mystic 
character. 

That  cases  of  real  enthusiasm  occurred  at  this  and 
subsequent  periods  is  indeed  allowed.  There  are  al^ 
ways  nervous,  dreamy,  and  excitable  people  to  be  found  j 
and  the  emotion  which  was  produced  among  those  who 
were  really  so  "  prickled  in  the  heart"  as  to  cry  with  a 
sincerity  equal  to  that  which  was  felt  by  those  of  old, 


Lipff  OP  WESLEY. 


83 


"  What  shall  we  do  to  be  saved  1"  would  often  be  com- 
municated to  such  persons  by  natural  sympathy.  No  one 
could  be  blamed  for  this,  unless  he  had  encouraged  the  ex- 
citement for  its  own  sake,  or  taught  the  people  to  regard 
it  as  a  sign  of  grace,  which  most  assuredly  Mr.  Wesley 
never  did.  Nor  is  it  correct  to  represent  these  effects, 
genuine  and  factitious  together,  as  peculiar  to  Methodism. 
A  great  impression  was  made  by  the  preaching  of  the 
Wesleys  and  Mr.  Whitefield  in  almost  all  places  where 
they  went.  Thousands  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  and 
of  those  too  who  had  lived  in  the  greatest  unconcern  as  to 
spiritual  things,  and  were  most  ignorant  and  depraved  in 
their  habits,  were  recovei'cd  from  tlieir  vices,  and  the 
moral  appearance  of  whole  neighbourhoods  was  changed. 
Yet  the  effects  were  not  witliout  precedent  even  in  those 
circumstances  in  which  they  have  been  thought  most 
singular  and  exceptionable.  Great  and  rapid  results  of 
this  kind  were  produced  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity, 
but  not  without  "  outcries,"  and  strong  corporeal  as  well 
as  mental  emotions,  nay,  and  extravagancies  too.  By 
perversion,  even  condemnable  heresies  arose,  and  a  rank 
and  real  enthusiasm :  but  will  any  man  from  this  argue 
against  Christianity  itself;  or  asperse  the  labours  and 
characters  of  those  holy  men  who  planted  its  genuine  root 
in  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe  ?  Will  he  say,  that  as,  through 
the  corrupt  nature  of  men,  evil  often  accompanies  good, 
one  is  to  be  confounded  witli  the  other,  and  that  those 
great  evangelists  were  the  authors  of  the  evil  because  they 
Avere  the  instruments  of  the  benefit  ?  Even  in  the  decline 
of  true  piety  in  the  church  of  Christ,  there  were  not  want- 
ing holy  and  zealous  ministers  to  carry  out  the  tidings  of 
salvation  to  the  barbarous  ancestors  of  European  nations ; 
and  strong  and  effectual  impressions  were  made  by  their 
faithful  and  powerful  preaching  upon  the  savage  multi- 
tudes who  surrounded  them,  accompanied  with  many 
effects  similar  to  those  which  attended  the  preaching  of 
the  Wesleys  and  Whitefield  ;  but  all  who  went  on  these 
sacred  missions  were  not  enthusiasts ;  nor  were  all  the  con- 
versions effected  by  them  a  mere  exchange  of  superstitions. 
Such  objectors  might  have  known  that  like  effects  often 
accompanied  the  preaching  of  eminent  men  at  the  reform- 


84 


LIFE  OF  WBSLEV. 


ation,  and  that  many  of  the  Puritan  and  Nonconformist 

ministers  had  similar  successes  in  large  districts  in  our 
own  country.  They  might  have  known  that,  in  Scotland, 
and  also  among  the  grave  Presbyterians  of  New  England, 
previous  to  the  rise  of  Methodism,  such  impressions  had 
not  unfrequently  been  produced  by  the  ministry  of  faith- 
ful men,  attended  by  very  similar  circumstances  ;  and  they 
might  have  been  informed  that,  though  on  a  smaller  scale, 
the  same  results  have  followed  the  ministry  of  modern 
missionaries  of  different  religious  societies  in  various  parts 
of  the  world.  It  may  be  laid  down  as  a  principle  estab- 
lished by  fact,  that,  whenever  a  zealous  and  faithful  mi- 
nistry is  raised  up,  after  a  long  spiritual  death,  the  early 
elfects  of  that  ministry  are  not  only  powerful,  but  often 
attended  with  extraordinary  circumstances  ;  nor  are  such 
extraordinary  circumstances  necessarily  extravagancies 
because  they  are  not  common.  If  there  be  an  explicit 
truth  in  Scripture,  it  is,  that  the  success  of  the  ministry 
of  the  Gospel,  in  the  conversion  of  men,  is  the  conse- 
quence of  divine  influence  ;  and  if  there  be  a  well-ascer- 
tained fact  in  ecclesiastical  sto'-y,  it  is,  that  no  great  and 
indisputable  results  of  this  kind  have  been  produced  but 
by  men  who  have  acknowledged  this  truth,  and  have 
gone  forth  in  humble  dependance  upon  that  promised  co- 
operation contained  in  the  words,  "  And  lo,  I  am  with 
you  always,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world."  This  fact, 
equally  striking  and  notorious,  is  a  strong  confirmation 
that  the  sense  of  the  sacred  oracles  on  this  point,  was  not 
mistaken  by  them.  The  testimony  of  the  word  of  God 
is,  that,  as  to  ministerial  success,  "  God  giveth  the  in- 
crease :"  the  testimony  of  experience  is,  that  no  success 
in  producing  true  conversion  has  ever  taken  place  in 
any  church,  but  when  this  co-operation  of  God  has  been 
acknowledged  and  sought  by  the  agents  employed  in  it. 

The  doctrine  of  divine  influence,  as  necessary  to  the 
conversion  of  men,  being  thus  grounded  on  the  evidence 
of  Scripture,  and  further  confirmed  by  fact,  it  may  fol- 
low, and  that  in  perfect  conformity  with  revelation,  that 
such  influence  may  be  dispensed  in  ditferent  degrees  at 
different  periods.  That  it  was  more  eminently  exerted 
at  the  first  establishment  of  Christianity  than  at  some 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


85 


other  periods,  is  certain  ;  and  that  not  only  in  extraordi- 
nary gifts,  (for  though  these  might  awalceu  attention  and 
silence  unbelief,  we  have  tlie  evidence  of  Scripture  history 
to  prove,  that  miracles  cannot  of  themselves  convert  men 
from  vice,)  but  in  sanctifying  energy,  without  which  the 
heart  is  never  brought  to  yield  to  tiie  authority  and  will 
of  God  in  its  choice  and  affections.  That  in  various  sub- 
sequent periods  there  have  been  special  dispensations  of 
favour  to  nations,  with  reference  to  the  improvement  of 
their  moral  state,  is  clear  from  a  fact  which  cannot  be 
denied,  that  eminently  holy  and  gifted  men  have  been 
raised  up  at  such  periods  for  the  benefit  of  the  countries 
and  the  age  in  which  they  appeared,  from  whose  exer- 
tions they  have  derived  the  highest  moral  advantages. 
For  the  reasons  we  have  given,  we  cannot  refer  the 
appearance  of  such  men  to  chance,  nor  the  formation  of 
their  characters  to  the  circumstances  and  spirit  of  "  stir- 
ring times."  We  leave  these  conclusions  to  the  philosophy 
of  the  world ;  and  recognize  in  the  appearance  of  such 
instruments,  the  merciful  designs  and  special  grace  of 
Him  "  who  worketh  all  and  in  all."  But  the  argument  is, 
that  if  such  men  have  really  been  the  instruments  of 
"  turning  many  to  righteousness,"  and  that  if  the  princi- 
ples of  our  religion  forbid  us  to  believe  that  this  can  be 
done  by  any  gifts  or  qualities  in  them,  however  lofty  ; 
then,  according  to  the  Scripture  doctrine,  they  were 
"workers  together  with  God,"  and  the  age  in  which  they 
laboured  Avas  distinguished  by  a  larger  effusion  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  upon  the  minds  of  men.  Why  this  should 
occur  at  one  time  more  eminently  than  at  another,  we 
pretend  not  to  say;  but  even  this  notion,  so  enthusiastic 
probably  to  many,  is  still  in  conformity  to  the  word  of 
God,  which  declares  tliat  "  the  wind  bloweth  where  it 
listeth,"  and  that  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  like 
the  atmosphere,  is  subject  to  laws  not  ascertainable  by 
man ;  and  if  this  effusion  of  his  influence  argue  especial, 
though  undeserved  favour  to  particular  nations  and  ages, 
this  is  not  more  difficult  to  accovnit  for  than  that,  at  some 
periods  and  places,  men  of  eminent  usefulness  should  be 
sent  into  the  world,  when  they  do  not  appear  in  others, 
which  being  a  mere  matter  of  fact,  leaves  no  room  for 


85 


UFE  OF  WESLEY. 


cavil.  This  view,  likewise,  accords  with  what  the  Scrip- 
tures teach  us  to  expect  as  to  the  future.  For  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  sublime  consummation  of  the  divine 
counsels,  agents  of  great  efficiency  and  qualifications,  we 
believe,  will  from  time  to  time  appear  ;  but  our  hope  does 
not  rest  on  tliem,  but  on  Him  only  who  has  explicitly 
promised  to  "  pour  out  his  Spirit  upon  all  flesh,"  at  once 
to  give  efficiency  to  instruments  in  themselves  feeble, 
however  gifted,  and  so  "  to  order  the  unruly  wills  and 
passions  of  men,"  that  they  may  be  subdued  and  sancti- 
fied by  the  truth.  If  such  effusions  of  divine  influence  be 
looked  for,  and  on  such  principles,  as  the  means  of  spread- 
ing the  power  of  Christianity  general)}^,  Ave  may  surely 
believe  it  quite  accordant  botli  with  the  spirit  and  letter 
of  Scripture,  that  the  same  influence  should  often  be  exert- 
ed to  preserve  and  to  revive  religion  ;  and  that  if  nations, 
already  Christian,  are  to  be  the  instruments  of  extending 
Christianity,  not  in  name  only,  but  in  its  spirit  and  sanc- 
tity into  all  the  earth,  they  should  be  prepared  for  this 
high  designation  by  the  special  exercise  of  the  same  agency 
turning  them  from  M'hat  is  merely  formal  in  religion  to 
its  realities,  and  making  them  examples  to  others  of  the 
purifying  grace  of  the  gospel  of  God  our  Saviour.  Let 
it  then  be  supposed,  (no  great  presumption,  indeed,)  that 
Christians  have  quite  as  good  a  foundation  for  these 
opinions  as  others  can  boast  for  that  paltry  philosophy 
by  which  they  would  explain  the  effects  produced  by  the 
preaching  of  holy  and  zealous  ministers  in  different  ages; 
and  we  may  conclude  that  such  effects,  as  far  as  they  are 
genuine,  are  the  result  of  divine  influence  ;  and,  when 
numerous  and  rapid,  of  a  divine  influence  specially  and 
eminently  exerted,  giving  more  than  ordinary  assistance 
to  the  minds  of  men  in  their  religious  concerns,  and 
rendering  the  obstinate  more  inexcusable  by  louder  and 
more  explicit  calls.  Of  the  extraordinary  circumstances 
which  have  usually  accompanied  such  visitations,  it 
may  be  said,  that  if  some  should  be  resolved  into  purely 
natural  causes,  some  into  real  enthusiasm,  and  (under 
favour  of  our  philosophers)  others  into  satanic  imita- 
tion, a  sufficient  number  will  i-emain,  which  can  only  be 
explained  by  considering  them  as  results  of  a  strong 


< 


LIFE  OF  WESLET. 


87 


impression  made  upon  the  consciences  and  affections  of 
men  by  an  influence  ascertained  to  be  divine,  though 
usually  exerted  through  liuman  instrumentality,  by  its 
unquestionable  effects  upon  the  lieart  and  life.  Nor  is  it 
either  irrational  or  unscriptural  to  suppose,  that  times  of 
great  national  darkness  and  depravity,  the  case  certainly 
of  this  country  at  the  outset  of  Mr.  Wesley  and  his  col- 
leagues in  their  glorious  career,  should  require  a  strong 
remedy ;  and  that  the  attention  of  a  sleeping  people  should 
be  roused  by  circumstances  which  could  not  fail  to  be 
noticed  by  the  most  unthinking.  We  do  not  attach  pri- 
mary importance  to  secondary  circumstances ;  but  they 
are  not  to  be  wholly  disregarded.  The  Lord  was  not  in 
the  wind,  nor  in  the  earthquake,  nor  in  the  fire,  but  in  the 
"  still  small  voice ;"  yet  that  "  still  small  voice"  might  not 
have  been  heard,  except  by  minds  roused  from  their  inat- 
tention by  the  shaking  of  tlie  earth,  and  the  sounding  of 
the  storm. 

If,  however,  no  special  and  peculiar  effusion  of  divine 
influence  on  the  minds  of  many  of  Mr.  Wesley's  hearers  be 
supposed;  if  we  only  assume  the  exertion  of  that  ordinary 
influence  which,  as  we  have  seen,  must  accompany  the  la- 
bours of  every  minister  of  Christ  to  render  them  successful 
in  serving  men,  the  strong  emotions  often  produced  by  the 
preaching  of  the  founder  of  Methodism  might  be  accounted 
for  on  principles  very  different  from  those  adopted  by 
many  objectors.  The  multitudes  to  whom  he  preached 
were  generally  grossly  ignorant  of  the  gospel ;  and  he 
poured  upon  their  minds  a  flood  of  light ;  his  discourses 
were  plain,  pointed,  earnest,  and  affectionate  ;  the  feeling 
produced  was  deep,  piercing,  and  in  numberless  cases 
such  as  we  have  no  right,  if  we  believe  the  Bible,  to  attri- 
bute to  any  other  cause  than  that  inward  operation  of 
God  with  his  truth  which  alone  can  render  human  means 
effectual.  Many  of  those  on  whom  such  impressions  were 
made  retired  in  silence,  and  nurtured  them  by  reflection. 
The  "stricken  deer"  hastened  into  solitude,  there  to  bleed, 
unobserved  by  all  but  God.  This  was.  the  case  with  the 
majority;  for  visible  and  strong  emotions  were  the  occa- 
sional, and  not  the  constant,  results.  At  some  seasons 
indeed  effects  were  produced  which,  on  Christian  princi- 


88 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


pies,  we  may  hesitate  not  to  say,  can  only  be  accounted 

for  on  the  assumption  that  the  influence  was  both  divine 
and  special;  at  others,  the  impression  was  great,  but  yet 
we  need  assume  nothing  more  than  the  ordinary  blessing 
of  God  which  accompanies  "the  word  of  his  grace,"  when 
delivei-ed  in  the  fulness  of  faith  and  love,  in  order  to 
account  for  it.  But  beside  those  who  were  silently  pierced, 
and  whose  minds  were  sufficiently  strong  to  command 
their  emotions,  there  were  often  many  of  a  class  not  ac- 
customed to  put  such  restraints  upon  themselves.  To  a 
powerful  feeling  they  offered  but  a  slight  resistance,  and 
it  became  Yisible.  To  many  people,  then,  as  now,  this 
would  appear  extravagant ;  but  on  what  principle  can  the 
genuineness  of  the  impression  be  questioned  ?  Only  if  no 
subsequent  fruit  appeared.  For  if  a  true  conversion  fol- 
lowed, then,  if  there  be  truth  in  religion  itself,  the  "finger 
of  God"  must  be  acknowledged. 

We  have  hitherto  seen  Mr.  Wesley  and  Mr.  Whitefield 
labouring  together  in  harmony,  and  uniting  in  a  common 
design  to  promote  the  revival  of  scriptural  Christianity 
through  the  land.  But  Mr.  Wesley  about  this  time,  being 
impressed  with  the  strong  tendency  of  the  Calvinistic 
doctrines  to  produce  Antinomianism,  published  a  sermon 
against  absolute  predestination,  at  which  Mr.  Whitefield, 
who  sometime  previously  had  embraced  that  notion,  took 
offence.  A  controversy  between  them,  embracing  some 
other  points,  ensued,  which  issued  in  a  temporary  estrange- 
ment ;  and  they  laboured  from  this  time  independently  of 
each  other ;  their  societies  in  London,  Kingswood,  and 
other  places,  being  kept  quite  separate. 

A  reconciliation  however  took  place  between  Mr.  Wesley 
and  Mr.  Whitefield  in  January,  1 750,  so  that  they  preached 
in  each  other's  chapels.  The  following  entry  on  this  subject 
appears  in  his  Journal : — "  Friday  19th.  In  the  evening 
I  read  prayers  at  the  chapel  in  West-street,  and  Mr. 
Whitefield  preached  a  plain,  affectionate  discourse.  Sun- 
day 21.  He  read  prayers,  and  I  preached.  Sunday  28. 
I  read  prayers,  and  Mr.  Whitefield  preached.  How  wise 
is  God,  in  giving  different  talents  to  different  preachers ! 
So,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  one  more  stumbling  block  is 
removed." 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


89 


Tlie  following  extract  from  Mr.  Whitefield's  will  is  a 
pleasing  instance  of  generous,  truly  Christian  feeling : — 
"  1  leave  a  mourning  ring  to  my  honoured  and  dear 
friends,  and  disinterested  fellow-labourers,  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
John  and  Charles  Wesley,  in  token  of  my  indissoluble 
union  with  them  in  heart  and  Christian  affection,  notwith- 
standing our  difference  in  judgment  about  some  particular 
points  of  doctrine."* 

Mr.  Wesley,  at  Mr.  Whitefield's  own  desire,  preached  his 
funeral  sermon  at  the  Tabernacle,  Moorfields. 

Several  preachers  were  now  employed  by  Mr.  Wesley 
to  assist  in  the  growing  work,  which  already  had  swelled 
beyond  even  his  and  his  brother's  active  powers  suitably 
to  supply  witli  the  ministration  of  the  word  of  God.  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley  had  discouraged  this  from  the  beginning, 
and  even  he  himself  hesitated  ;  but,  with  John,  the  pro- 
motion of  religion  was  the  first  concern,  and  church  order 
the  second,  although  inferior  in  consideration  to  that  only. 
With  Charles  these  views  were  often  reversed.  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, in  the  year  1741,  had  to  caution  his  brother  against 
joining  the  Moravians,  after  the  example  of  Mr.  Gam- 
bold,  to  which  he  was  at  that  time  inclined  ;  and  adds, 
"  I  am  not  clear,  that  brother  Maxfield  should  not  expound 
at  Grey-hound  Lane  ;  nor  can  I  as  yet  do  without  him. 
Our  clergymen  have  increased  full  as  much  as  the  preach- 
ers." Mr.  Maxfield's  preaching  had  the  strong  sanction  of 
the  countess  of  Huntingdon  ;  but  so  little  of  design,  with 
reference  to  the  forming  of  a  sect,  had  Mr.  Wesley,  in  the 
employment  of  Mr.  Maxfield,  that,  in  his  own  absence  from 
London,  he  had  only  autliorised  him  to  pray  with  the 
society,  and  to  advise  them  as  might  be  needful ;  and  upon 
his  beginning  to  preach,  he  hastened  back  to  silence  him. 
On  this  his  mother  addressed  him,  "John,  you  know  what 
my  sentiments  have  been.  You  cannot  suspect  me  of 
favouring  readily  any  thing  of  this  kind.  But  take  care 
what  you  do  with  respect  to  that  young  man,  for  he  is  as 
surely  called  of  God  to  preach,  as  you  are.  Examine 
what  have  been  the  fruits  of  his  preaching,  and  hear  him 
also  yourself."  He  took  this  advice,  and  could  not  ven- 
ture to  forbid  kim. 

♦  Journal; 
9 


LIFE  OP  WESLET. 


His  defence  of  himself  on  this  point  we  may  pronounce 
irrefutable,  and  turns  upon  the  disappointment  of  his  hopes, 
that  the  parochial  clergy  would  talve  the  charge  of  those 
who  in  different  places  had  been  turned  to  God  by  his 
ministry,  and  that  of  his  fellow-labourers. 

"  It  pleased  God,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  by  two  or  three 
ministers  of  tlie  church  of  England,  to  call  many  sinners 
to  repentance,  who,  in  several  parts,  were  undeniably 
turned  from  a  course  of  sin  to  a  course  of  holiness. 

"  The  ministers  of  the  places  wliere  this  was  done  ought 
to  have  received  those  ministers  with  open  arms;. and  to 
have  taken  those  persons  who  had  just  begun  to  serve  God, 
into  their  particular  care  ;  watching  over  them  in  tender 
love,  lest  they  should  fall  back  into  the  snare  of  the  devil. 

"  Instead  of  this,  the  greater  part  spoke  of  those  minis- 
ters, as  if  the  devil,  not  God,  had  sent  them.  Some  repelled 
them  from  the  Lord's  table  ;  others  stirred  up  the  people 
against  them,  representing  them  even  in  their  public  dis- 
courses, as  fellows  not  fit  to  live ;  papists,  heretics,  trai- 
tors ;  conspirators  against  their  king  and  country. 

"  And  how  did  tliey  watch  over  the  sinners  lately 
reformed  ?  Even  as  a  leopard  watcheth  over  his  prey. 
Tliey  drove  some  of  them  from  the  Lord's  table  ;  to  which, 
till  now,  they  had  no  desire  to  approach.  They  preached 
all  manner  of  evil  concerning  them,  openly  cursing  them 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  They  turned  many  out  of  their 
work,  persuaded  others  to  do  so  too,  and  harassed  them 
in  all  manner  of  ways. 

"  The  event  was,  that  some  were  wearied  out,  and  so 
turned  back  to  the  vomit  again  :  and  then  these  good  pas- 
tors gloried  over  them,  and  endeavoured  to  shake  others 
by  tlieir  example. 

"  When  the  ministers,  by  whom  God  had  helped  them 
before,  came  again  to  those  places,  great  part  of  their 
■work  was  to  begin  again,  if  it  could  be  begun  again ;  but 
the  relapsers  were  often  so  hardened  in  sin,  that  no  im- 
pression could  be  made  upon  them. 

"  What  could  they  do  in  a  case  of  so  extreme  necessity, 
where  so  many  souls  lay  at  stake  ? 

"  No  clergyman  would  assist  at  all.  The  expedient 
that  remained  was,  to  find  some  one  among  themselves 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


91 


who  was  upright  of  heart,  and  of  sound  judgment  in  the 
things  of  God ;  and  to  desire  hini  to  meet  the  rest  as  often 
as  he  could,  in  order  to  confirm  them,  as  he  was  able,  in 
the  ways  of  God,  either  by  reading  to  them,  or  by  prayer, 
or  by  exhortation." 

This  statement  may  indeed  be  considered  as  affording 
the  key  to  all  that  which,  Avith  respect  to  church  order, 
may  be  called  irregularity  in  Mr.  Wesley's  future  proceed- 
ings. God  had  given  him  large  fruits  of  his  ministry  in 
various  places  ;  when  he  was  absent  from  them,  the  people 
were  "  as  sheep  having  no  shepherd,"  or  were  rather  per- 
secuted by  their  natural  pastors,  the  clergy ;  he  was  redu- 
ced, therefore,  to  the  necessity  of  leaving  them  williout 
religious  care,  or  of  providing  it  for  them.  He  wisely 
chose  the  latter  ;  but,  true  to  his  own  principles,  and  even 
prejudices,  he  carried  this  no  farther  than  the  necessity  of 
the  case  :  the  hours  of  service  were  in  no  instance  to  in- 
terfere with  those  of  the  establishment,  and  at  the  parish 
church  the  members  were  exhorted  to  communicate. 
Thus  a  religious  society  was  raised  up  within  the  national 
church,  and  with  this  anomaly,  that  as  to  all  its  interior 
arrangements,  as  a  society,  it  Avas  independent  of  its  ec- 
clesiastical authority.  The  irregularity  was,  in  principle, 
as  great  when  the  first  step  Avas  taken  as  at  any  future 
time.  It  Avas  a  form  of  practical  and  partial  separation, 
though  not  of  theoretical  dissent ;  but  it  arose  out  of  a 
moral  necessity,  and  existed  for  some  years  in  such  a  state, 
that,  had  the  clergy  been  disposed  to  co-operate  in  this 
evident  revival  and  spread  of  true  religion,  and  had  the 
heads  of  the  church  been  Avilling  to  sanction  itinerant  la- 
bours among  its  ministers,  and  private  religious  meetings 
among  the  serious  part  of  the  people  for  mutual  edifica- 
tion, the  great  body  of  Methodists  might  have  been  re- 
tained in  communion  Avith  the  church  of  England. 

On  this  matter,  Avhich  Avas  often  brought  before  the 
leading  and  influential  clergy,  they  made  their  oAvn  elec- 
tion. They  refused  to  co-operate  ;  they  doubtless  thought 
that  they  acted  right ;  and,  excepting  the  obloquy  and  per- 
secution Avith  which  they  folloAved  an  innocent  and  pious 
people,  they  perhaps  di(J  so  ;  for  a  great  innovation  Avould 
have  been  made  upon  the  discipline  of  the  church,  for 


92 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


which,  at  that  tmie  at  least,  it  was  little  prepared.  But 
the  clergy,  having  made  their  election,  have  no  right,  as 
some  of  them  continue  to  do,  to  censure  either  the 
founders  of  Methodism  or  their  people  for  making  more 
ample  provision  for  their  spiritual  wants.  It  was  impera- 
tive upon  the  former  to  provide  that  pastoral  care  for  the 
souls  brought  to  God  by  their  labours,  which  the  church 
could  not  or  would  not  afford  ;  and  the  people  had  a 
Christian  liberty  to  follow  tliat  course  which  they  serious- 
ly believed  most  conducive  to  their  own  edification,  as  well 
as  a  liberty  by  the  very  laws  of  their  country.  The  violent 
clerical  writers  against  Methodism  have  usually  forgotten, 
that  no  man  in  England  is  bound  to  the  national  church 
by  any  thing  but  moral  influence  ;  and  that  from  every 
other  tie  he  is  set  free  by  the  la\vs  which  recognise  and 
protect  religious  liberty.  Mr.  Wesley  resisted  all  attempts 
at  formal  separation,  still  hoping  that  a  more  friendly 
spirit  would  spring  up  among  the  clergy ;  and  he  even 
pressed  hard  upon  the  consciences  of  his  people  to 
effect  their  uniform  and  constant  attendance  at  their 
parish  churches,  and  at  the  sacrament ;  but  he  could 
not  long  and  generally  succeed.  Where  the  clergyman 
of  a  parish  was  moral  or  pious  there  was  no  diffi- 
culty ;  but  cases  of  conscience  were  continually  arising 
among  his  societies,  as  to  the  lawfulness  of  attending  the 
ministry  of  the  irreligious  and  profane  clergymen,  who 
were  then  and  long  afterward  found  throughout  the 
land  ;  and  as  to  hearing,  and  training  up  children  to 
hear,  false  and  mislcailing  doctrines.  Pelagian,  Antino- 
mian,  or  such  as  were  directed  in  some  form  against 
the  religion  of  the  heart  as  taught  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  in  the  services  of  tlie  national  church.  These  cases 
exceedingly  perplexed  Mr.  Wesley ;  and  though  he  re- 
laxed his  strictness  in  some  instances,  yet  as  he  did  not 
sufficiently  yield  to  meet  the  whole  case,  and  perhaps 
could  not  do  it  without  adopting  such  an  ecclesiastical 
organization  of  his  societies  as  would  have  contradicted 
the  principles  to  which,  as  to  their  relation  to  the  church, 
he  had,  perhaps,  overhastily  and  peremptorily  committed 
himself;  the  effect  wrs,  that  long  before  his  death,  the 
attendance  of  the  Methodists  at  such  parish  churches  as 


LIFE  OP  WE3LET. 


93 


had  not  pious  ministers  was  exceedingly  scanty ;  and  as 
they  were  not  permitted  public  worship  among  themselves 
in  the  hours  of  churcli  service,  a  great  part  of  the  Sabbath 
was  lost  to  them,  except  as  they  employed  it  in  family 
and  private  exercises.  So  also  as  to  the  Lord's  supper ; 
as  it  was  not  then  administered  by  their  own  preachers,  it 
fell  into  great  and  painful  neglect.  To  meet  the  case  in 
part,  the  two  brothers,  and  a  few  clergymen  who  joined 
them,  had  public  service  in  church  hours,  in  the  chapels  in 
London  and  some  other  places,  and  administered  the  Lord's 
supper  to  numerous  communicants;  a  measure,  which, 
like  other  inconsistencies  of  a  similar  kind,  grew  out  of  a 
sense  of  duty,  Avarring  with,  and  restrained  by,  strong  pre- 
possessions, and  the  very  sincere  but  very  unfounded°hope 
just  mentioned,  that  a  more  friendly  spirit  would  be  awa- 
kened among  the  clergy,  and  that  all  the  sheep  gathered 
out  of  the  wilderness  would  at  length  be  kindly  welcomed 
into  the  national  fold.  As  ecclesiastical  irregularities,  these 
measures  stood,  however,  precisely  on  the  same  principle 
as  those  subsequent  changes  which  have  rendered  the  body 
of  Methodists  still  more  distinct  and  separate  ;  a  subject 
to  which  reference  will  again  be  made.  The  warmest  ad- 
vocates of  churcli  Methodism  among  ourselves  were  never 
consistent  churchmen  ;  and  the  church  Avriters,  who  have 
set  up  the  example  of  Mr.  Wesley  against  his  more  mo- 
dern followers,  have  been  wholly  ignorant  or  unmindful 
of  his  history.  Dr.  Southey,  and  others  who  have  fan- 
cied a  plan  of  separation  in  IMr.  Wesley's  mind  from 
tlie  beginning,  though  followed  cautiously  and  with  po- 
licy "  step  by  step,"  have  shown  a  better  acquaintance 
with  Xhe  facts  of  the  progress  of  Methodism  ;  though  they 
have  been  most  unjust  to  the  pure  and  undesigning  mind  of 
its  founder ;  who  walked  "  step  by  step,"  it  is  true,  but  only 
as  Providence  by  an  arrangement  of  circumstances  seemed 
to  lead  the  way ;  and  would  make  no  change  but  as  a 
necessity,  arising  from  conscientious  views  of  the  pros- 
perity of  a  spiritual  work,  appeared  to  dictale.  Had  he 
looked  forward  to  the  forming  of  a  distinct  sect,  as  an 
honour^  he  would  have  attempted  to  enjoy  it  in  its  fulness 
during  his  life  ;  and  had  he  been  so  skilful  a  des  igner  as 
some  have  represented  him,  he  would  not  have  left  a  large 
9* 


94 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


body  unprovided  for,  in  many  respects  essential  to  its 
prosperity  and  permanence,  at  his  death.  He  left  his  work 
unfinished,  and  knew  that  he  should  leave  it  in  that  state ; 
but  he  threw  the  final  results,  in  the  spirit  of  a  strong 
faith,  upon  the  care  of  Him  whose  hand  he  had  seen  in 
it  from  the  beginning. 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

We  have  now  to  follow  these  apostolic  men  into  still 
more  extended  fields  of  labour,  and  to  contests  more  for- 
midable. They  had  sustained  many  attacks  from  the 
press ;  and  some  frowns  from  the  authorities  of  the  church. 
By  mobs  they  had  occasionally  been  insulted  both  in 
England  and  Wales.  But  in  London,  some  riotous  pro- 
ceedings, of  a  somewhat  violent  character,  now  occurred 
at  their  places  of  worship.  With  respect  to  these,  the  fol- 
lowing anecdote  is  curious,  as  it  shows  that  Mr.  Wesley's 
zeal  was  regarded  with  favour  in  a  high  quarter :  "  On 
the  last  day  of  1742,  Sir  John  Ganson  called  upon  Mr. 
Wesley,  and  said,  '  Sir,  you  have  no  need  to  suffer  these 
riotous  mobs  to  molest  you,  as  they  have  done  long.  I  and 
all  the  other  Middlesex  Magistrates  have  orders  from 
above  to  do  you  justice  whenever  you  apply  to  us.'  Two 
or  three  weeks  after,  they  did  apply.  Justice  was  done, 
though  not  with  rigour ;  and  from  that  time  the  Metho- 
dists had  peace  in  London."* 

In  the  discipline  of  Methodism,  the  division  of  the  so- 
ciety into  classes  is  an  important  branch.  Each  class  is 
placed  under  a  person  of  experience  and  piety,  who  meets 
the  others  once  a  week,  for  prayer,  and  inquiry  into  the 
religious  state  of  each,  in  order  to  administer  exhortation 
and  counsel.  The  origin  of  these  classes  was,  however, 
purely  accidental.  The  chapel  at  Bristol  was  in  debt ; 
and  it  was  agreed  that  each  member  of  the  society  should 
contribute  one  penny  a  week  to  reduce  the  burden.  The 
Bristol  society  was  therefore  divided  into  classes ;  and  for 
convenience,  one  person  was  appointed  to  collect  the 
♦  Whitehead's  Life. 


LIFB  Of  WESLEY. 


9S 


weekly  subscriptions  from  each  class,  and  to  pay  the 
amount  to  the  stewards.  The  advantage  of  this  system, 
when  turned  to  a  higher  pnr;jose,  at  or.ct  struck  the  me- 
thodical and  practical  mind  of  Mr.  Wesley :  he  therefore 
invited  several  "  earnest  and  sensible  men"  to  meet  him ; 
and  the  society  in  London  was  divided  into  classes  like 
that  of  Bristol,  and  placed  under  the  spii-itual  care  of 
these  tried  and  experienced  persons.  At  first  they  visited 
each  person,  at  his  own  residence,  once  a  week  ;  but  the 
preferable  mode  of  bringing  each  class  together  weekly 
was  at  length  adopted.  These  meetings  are  not,  as  some 
have  supposed,  inquisitorial ;  but  tlieir  business  is  confined 
to  statements  of  religious  experience,  and  the  administra- 
tion of  friendly  and  pious  counsel.  Mutual  acquaintance 
with  each  other  is  thus  formed ;  the  leader  is  the  friend 
and  adviser  of  all;  and  among  the  members,  by  their 
praying  so  often  with  and  for  each  other,  the  true  "  fel- 
lowship of  saints"  is  promoted.  Opportunities  are  also 
thus  afforded  for  ascertaining  the  wants  of  the  poorer 
members,  and  obtaining  relief  for  them  ;  and  for  visiting 
the  sick:  the  duty  of  a  leader  being  to  see  his  members 
once  in  the  week,  either  at  the  meeting,  or,  if  absent  from 
that,  at  home.  Upon  this  institution  Mv.  Wesley  remarks, 
"  Upon  reflection,  I  could  not  but  observe,  this  is  the  very 
thing  which  was  from  the  beginning  of  Christianity.  In 
the  earliest  times,  those  whom  God  had  sent  forth  '  preach- 
ed the  Gospel  to  every  creature.'  The  body  of  hearers 
were  mostly  either  Jews  or  heathens.  But  as  soon  as  any 
of  these  were  so  convinced  of  the  truth  as  to  forsake  sin, 
and  seek  the  gospel  of  salvation,  they  immediately  joined 
them  together,  took  an  account  of  their  names,  advised 
them  to  watch  over  each  other,  and  met  tliese  Karnxiittvoi, 
catechumens,  as  they  were  then  called,  apart  from  the 
great  congregation,  that  they  might  instruct,  rebuke,  ex- 
hort, and  pray  with  them,  and  for  them,  according  to  their 
several  necessities."* 

A  current  charge  against  Mr.  Wesley,  about  this  time, 
was,  that  he  was  a  papist ;  and  from  the  frequent  referen- 
ces to  it  in  his  journal,  although  it  was  treated  by  him 
with  characteristic  sprightliness,  it  appears  to  have  been 
*  Journal. 


96 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


the  occasion  of  much  popular  odium,  arising  from  the 
fears  entertained  by  the  nation  of  the  movements  of  the 
Pretender.  In  his  Journal,  March,  1741,  he  says,  "  Call- 
ing on  a  person  near  Grosvenor-Square,  I  found  there  was 
but  too  much  reason  here  for  crying  out  of  the  inc^-ease 
of  popery ;  many  converts  to  it  being  continually  made  by 
the  gentleman  who  preaches  in  Swallow-street  three  days 
in  every  week.  Now,  why  do  not  the  champions,  who 
are  continually  crying  out,  '  popery,  popery,'  in  Moor- 
fields,  come  hither,  that  they  may  not  always  be  fighting 
'  as  one  that  beateth  the  air  ?'  Plainly,  because  they 
have  no  mind  to  fight  at  all,  but  to  show  their  valour  with- 
out an  opponent.  And  they  well  know,  they  may  defy 
popery  at  the  foundery  without  any  danger  of  contradic- 
tion." And  some  time  afterward,  he  remained  in  London, 
from,  whence  all  papists  had  been  ordered  by  proclama- 
tion to  depart,  a  week  longer  than  he  intended,  that  he 
might  not  seem  to  plead  guilty  to  the  charge.  The  notion 
that  the  Methodists  were  papists  was  also,  in  those  times, 
the  occasion  of  their  being  persecuted  in  several  places  in 
the  country. 

Mr.  Wesley  now  extended  his  labours  northward.  He 
first  accepted  an  invitation  into  Leicestershire,  and  has 
the  following  amusing  anecdote  in  his  Journal :  "  I  stopped 
a  little  at  Newport-Pagnell,  and  then  rode  on  till  I  over- 
took a  serious  man,  with  whom  I  immediately  fell  into 
conversation.  He  presently  gave  me  to  know  what  his 
opinions  were  ;  therefore  I  said  nothing  to  contradict 
them.  But  that  did  not  content  him ;  he  was  quite  un- 
easy to  know  whether  I  held  the  doctrine  of  the  decrees 
as  he  did.  But  I  told  him,  over  and  over,  we  had  better 
keep  to  practical  things,  lest  we  should  be  angry  at  one 
another ;  and  so  Ave  did  for  two  miles,  till  he  caught  me 
unawares,  and  dragged  me  into  the  dispute  before  I  knew 
where  I  was.  He  then  grew  warmer  and  warmer; — told 
me  I  was  rotten  at  heart,  and  supposed  I  was  one  of  John 
Wesley's  followers.  I  told  him,  '  No  !  I  am  John  Wesley 
Jiimself !'  Upon  which  he  appeared, 

Improtis\im  aspris  veluti  qui  sentibus  anguern 

Pressit  

♦  fts  one  who  had  unawares  trodden  on  a  snake,'  an<i 


LIFE  or  WE81.BY. 


97 


•vrould  gladly  hare  run  away  outright.  But  being  the  bet- 
ter mounted  cf  the  two,  I  kept  close  to  his  side,  and  en- 
deavoured to  show  him  liis  heart  till  we  came  into  liie 
street  of  Northampton."  In  this  journey  he  visited 
Yorkshire.  At  Bristol  and  the  neighbourhood  many  per- 
sons had  been  awakened  to  a  serious  concern  by  the  con- 
versation and  preaching  of  honest  John  Nelson,  who  had 
himself  been  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  God  in  London, 
by  attending  the  service  at  the  Foundery,  and  had  returned 
to  his  friends  in  Yorkshire,  chiefly  moved  by  a  strong  de- 
sire to  promote  their  salvation.  The  natural  genius  of 
this  excellent  man,  who  afterwards  suffered  much  perse- 
cution, and  was  barbarously  treated  by  the  magistrates  and 
clergy,  was  admirablj'  acute,  and  gave  to  hii  repartees  a 
surprising  power  and  convincingness.  He  greatly  ex- 
celled in  conversation  on  religious  subjects;  and  his  jour- 
nal is  one  of  the  most  interesting  pieces  of  biography  pub- 
lished among  the  Methodists.  When  Mr.  "Wesley  reach- 
ed Birstal,  he  found  that  he  had  been  the  instrument  of 
very  extensive  good,  so  that  the  moral  aspect  of  the  to«Ti 
had  been  changed.  After  preaching  to  a  large  congrega- 
tion on  Birstal  Hdl,  and  on  the  side  of  De^.  sbury  Moor, 
and  encouraging  Mr.  Nelson  in  his  endeavours  to  do  good, 
Mr.  Wesley  proceeded  to  Newcastle-upon-Tpie,  hoping 
to  have  the  same  fruit  of  his  labours  among  the  colliers  of 
that  district  as  he  had  seen  among  those  of  Kingswood. 
So  true  was  this  lover  of  the  souls  of  men  to  his  own  ad- 
vice to  his  preachers,  "  Go  not  only  to  those  who  need 
you,  but  to  those  who  need  you  most." 

On  walking  through  the  town,  after  he  had  taken  some 
refreshment,  he  observes,  "  I  was  surprised  ;  so  much 
drunkenness,  cursing,  and  s^vearing,  even  from  the  mouths 
of  little  children,  do  I  never  remember  to  have  seen  and 
heard  before  in  so  short  a  time."  Sunday,  3Iay  30th,  at 
seven  in  the  morning  he  walked  down  to  Sandgate,  the 
poorest  and  most  contemptible  part  of  the  town,  and 
standing  at  the  end  of  the  street  with  John  Taylor,  began 
to  sing  the  hundredth  psalm.  "  Three  or  four  people," 
says  he,  "  came  out  to  see  what  was  the  matter,  who  soon 
increased  to  four  or  five  hundred.  I  suppose  there  might 
be  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  before  I  had  done  preaching, 


98 


LIFE  or  WESLEY. 


to  whom  I  applied  these  solemn  words,  '  He  was  wounded 
foi"  our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities ; 
the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him,  and  by  his 
stripes  we  are  healed.'  " 

In  returning  southward,  he  preached  in  various  parts  of 
Yorlcshire  ;  and  visiting  Epworth,  where  a  small  society 
of  Methodists  had  been  collected,  and  finding  the  use  of 
the  church  denied  him,  he  stood  upon  his  father's  tomb, 
and  preached  to  a  numerous  congregation,  who,  as  well 
as  himself,  appear  to  have  been  deeply  impressed  with  the 
circumstance  of  the  son  speaking  to  them,  as  from  the 
ashes  of  his  father,  on  those  solemn  subjects  on  which  that 
venerable  parish  priest  had  faitlifully  addressed  them  for 
so  many  years.  This  was  Sunday,  June  Gtli,  1742,  and 
on  the  Wednesday  following,  he  humourously  relates,  "  I 
rode  over  to  a  neighbouring  town,  to  wait  upon  a  justice 
of  peace,  a  man  of  candour  and  understanding;  before 
whom,  I  was  informed,  their  angry  neighbours  had  carried 
a  whole  wagon-load  of  these  new  heretics.  But  when  he 
asked  what  they  had  done,  there  was  a  deep  silence ;  for 
that  was  a  point  their  conductors  had  forgot.  At  length 
one  said,  '  Why,  tliey  pretend  to  be  better  tlian  other  peo- 
ple ;  and,  besides,  they  pray  from  morning  to  night.' — Mr. 
S —  asiicd,  '  But  have  they  done  nothing  besides  V  '  Yes, 
Sir,'  said  an  old  man,  '  An't  please  your  worship,  they  have 
convarled  my  wife.  Till  she  went  among  them,  she  had 
such  a  tongue  ;  and  now  she  is  as  quiet  as  a  lamb.'  '  Car- 
ry them  back,  carry  them  back,'  replied  the  justice,  'and 
let  them  convert  all  the  scolds  in  the  town.'  "* 

On  the  Sunday  following  he  also  preached  at  Epworth, 
and  remarks,  "  At  six  I  preached  for  the  last  time  in  Ep- 
worth churchyard  (being  to  leave  town  the  next  morn- 
ing) to  a  vast  multitude  gathered  together  from  all  parts, 
on  the  beginning  of  our  Lord's  sermon  on  the  mount. 
I  continued  among  them  for  near  three  hours  ;  and  yet 
we  scarce  knew  how  to  part.  O  let  none  think  his  labour 
of  love  is  lost,  because  the  fruit  does  not  immediately 
appear.  Near  forty  years  did  my  father  labour  here  ;  but 
he  saw  little  fruit  of  all  his  labour.    I  took  some  pains 

♦  Journal. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


99 


among  this  people  too  ;  and  my  strength  also  seemed  to 
be  spent  in  vain.  But  now  the  fruit  appeared.  There 
were  scarce  any  in  the  town,  on  whom  either  my  father 
or  I  had  taken  any  pains  formerly,  but  the  seed  sown  so 
long  since  now  sprung  up,  brin»ging  forth  repentance  and 
remission  of  sins."* 

The  following  remarks  on  a  sermon  he  heard  at  Pains- 
wick  occur  in  his  Journal  about  this  time,  and  deserve 
notice  : — "  I  went  to  cliurch  at  ten,  and  heard  a  remark- 
able discourse,  asserting,  '  that  we  are  justified  by  faith 
alone;  but  that  this  faith,  which  is  the  previous  condition 
of  justification,  is  the  complex  of  ail  Christian  virtues,  in- 
cluding all  holiness  and  good  works  in  the  very  idea  of  it.' 

"  Alas  !  How  little  is  the  difference  between  asserting, 
either,  1.  That  we  are  justified  by  Avorks,  which  is  popery 
bare-faced  ;  (and  indeed  so  gross  that  the  sober  papists, 
those  of  the  council  of  Trent  in  particular,  are  asliamed 
of  it ;)  or,  2.  That  we  are  justified  by  faith  and  works, 
which  is  popery  refined  or  veiled  ;  (but  with  so  thin  a 
veil  that  every  attentive  observer  must  discern  it  is  the 
same  still ;)  or,  3.  That  •we  are  justified  by  faith  alone, 
but  by  such  a  faith  as  includes  all  good  works. f  What  a 
poor  shift  is  this, — '  I  will  not  say  we  are  justified  by 
works,  nor  yet  by  faith  and  works,  because  I  have  sub- 
scribed articles  and  homilies  which  maintain  just  the 
contrary.  No ;  1  say  we  are  justified  by  faith  alone.  But 
then  by  faith  I  mean  Avorks  !' " 

After  visiting  Bristol,  he  was  recalled  to  London  to  at- 
tend the  last  moments  of  his  mother  : — Friday,  July  30th, 
about  three  in  the  afternoon,  I  went  to  my  mother,  and 
found  her  change  was  near.  I  sat  down  on  the  bed-side. 
She  was  in  her  last  conflict,  unable  to  speak,  but,  I  believe, 
quite  sensible.  Her  look  was  calm  and  serene,  and  her 
eyes  fixed  upward,  while  we  commended  her  soul  to  God. 
From  three  to  four,  the  silver  cord  was  loosening,  and  the 
wheel  breaking  at  the  cistern  ;  and  then,  without  any 
struggle,  or  sigh,  or  groan,  the  soul  was  set  at  liberty.  We 

♦  Journal. 

_t  Although  the  faith  which  justifies  does  not  incl-ude  good  works,  it 
will,  when  it  has  justified  us,  produce  and  XtefoUoued  by  good  works } 
because  it  brings  us  into  ntal  union  with  Christ. 


100 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


stood  round  the  bed,  and  fulfilled  her  last  request,  uttered 
a  little  before  she  lost  her  speech,  '  Children,  as  soon  as  I 
am  released,  sing  a  psalm  of  praise  to  God.'  "* 

So  decided  a  witness  was  this  venerable  and  intellectual 
woman  of  the  assurance  of  faith ;  a  doctrine  she  had 
learned  from  her  sons  more  clearly  to  understand.  To 
their  sound  views,  on  this  scriptural  and  important  sub- 
ject, the  latter  years  of  her  life  and  her  death,  gave  a  tes- 
timony which  to  them  must  have  been,  in  the  highest 
degree,  delightful  and  encouraging.  The  following  beau- 
tiful epitaph,  written  by  her  son  Charles,  was  inscribed  on 
her  tomb-stone  in  Bunhill  Fields  : — 

"  In  sure  and  steadfast  hope  to  rise, 
And  claim  her  mansion  in  tlie  skies, 
A  Christian  here  her  flesh  laid  down, 
The  cross  exchanging  for  a  crown. 

True  daughter  of  affliction,  she, 
Inured  to  pain  and  misery, 
Moum'd  a  long  night  of  griefs  and  fears, 
A  legal  night  of  seventy  years. 

The  Father  then  reveafd  his  Son, 
Him  in  tlie  broken  bread  made  known : 
She  knew  and  felt  licr  sins  forgiven, 
And  found  the  earnest  of  her  heaven. 

Meet  for  the  fellowship  above. 
She  heard  the  call,  '  Arise,  my  love !' 
'  I  come,'  her  dying  looks  replied, 
And  lamb-like,"  as  her  Lord,  she  died." 

The  labours  of  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  had  been  very  ex- 
tended and  arduous  during  the  early  part  of  the  year  1743, 
and,  by  the  divine  blessing,  eminently  successful.  From 
the  west  of  England  he  proceeded  to  the  coUiers  of  Staf- 
fordshire, who  had  before  been  visited,  and  found  that  the 
society  at  Wednesbury  had  increased  to  more  than  three 
hundred,  of  whose  religious  state  he  speaks,  in  his  Jour- 
nal, with  strong  feelings  of  joy.  At  Walsall,  he  preach- 
ed on  the  market-house  steps  : — 

"  The  street  was  full  of  fierce  Ephesian  beasts,  (the 
principal  man  setting  them  on,)  who  roared  and  shouted, 
and  threw  stones  incessantly.   At  the  conclusion  a  stream 


<*  Journal. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


101 


of  ruffians  was  suffered  to  beat  me  down  from  the  steps : 
I  rose,  and  having  given  the  blessing,  was  beat  down  again; 
and  so  a  third  time.  When  we  had  returned  thanks  to 
the  God  of  our  salvation,  I  tlien  from  the  steps  bid  them 
depart  in  peace,  and  Avalked  through  the  thickest  of  the 
rioters.  They  reviled  us,  but  had  no  commission  to  touch 
a  hair  of  our  head." 

He  then  proceeded  to  Birmingham,  Nottingham,  and 
then  to  Sheffield.  Here  the  infant  society  was  as  a  "  flock 
among  wolves  ;  the  minister  having  so  stirred  up  the  peo- 
ple, that  they  were  ready  to  tear  the  Methodists  in  pieces. 
At  six  o'clock,  I  went  to  the  society  house,  next  door  to 
.our  brother  Bennet's.  Hell  from  beneath  was  moved  to 
oppose  us.  As  soon  as  I  was  in  the  desk,  with  David 
Taylor,  the  floods  began  to  lift  up  their  voice.  An  officer 
in  the  army  contradicted  and  blasphemed.  I  took  no  no- 
tice of  him,  but  sang  on.  The  stones  flew  thick,  striking 
the  desk  and  the  people.  To  save  them,  and  the  house 
from  being  pulled  down,  I  gave  out,  that  I  should  preach 
in  the  street,  and  look  tliem  in  the  face.  The  whole 
army  of  the  aliens  followed  mc.  The  captain  laid  hold 
on  me,  and  began  rioting :  I  gave  him  for  answer,  '  A 
Word  in  Season,  or  Advice  to  a  Soldier.'  I  then  prayed 
particularly  for  his  majesty  King  George,  and  '  preached 
the  Gospel  with  much  contention.'  The  stones  often 
struck  me  in  the  face.  I  prayed  for  sinners,  as  servants 
of  their  master,  the  devil ;  upon  which  the  captain  ran 
at  me  with  great  fury,  threatening  revenge  for  abusing, 
as  he  called  it,  '  the  king  his  master.'  He  forced  his 
way  through  the  brethren,  drew  his  sword,  and  presented 
it  to  my  breast.  I  immediately  opened  my  breast,  and 
fixing  my  eye  on  his,  and  smiling  in  his  face,  calmly  said, 
*  I  fear  God,  and  honour  the  king.'  His  countenance 
fell  in  a  moment,  he  fetched  a  deep  sigh,  and  putting  up 
his  swordj  quietly  left  the  place.  He  had  said  to  one  of 
the  company  who  afterwards  informed  me,  '  You  shall 
see  if  I  do  but  hold  my  sword  to  his  breast,  he  will  faint 
away.'  So,  perhaps,  I  should,  had  I  only  his  principles 
to  trust  to;  but  if  at  that  time  I  was  not  afraid,  no  thanks 
to  my  natural  courage.  We  returned  to  our  brother 
Bennet's  and  gave  ourselves  up  to  prayer.  The  rioters 
10 


102 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


followed,  and  exceeded  in  outrage  all  I  have  seen  before. 
Those  at  Moorfields,  Cardiff,  and  Walsall,  were  lambs  to 
these.  As  there  is  no  '  king  in  Israel,'  I  mean  no  magis- 
trate in  Sheffield,  every  man  doeth  as  seemeth  good  in 
his  own  eyes." — The  mob  now  formed  the  design  of 
pulling  down  the  society  house,  and  set  upon  their  work, 
while  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  and  the  people  were  praying 
and  praising  God  within.  "  It  was  a  glorious  time," 
says  he,  "  with  us  ;  every  word  of  exhortation  sunk  deep, 
every  prayer  was  sealed,  and  many  found  the  spirit  of 
glory  resting  upon  them."  The  next  day  the  house  was 
completely  pulled  down,  not  one  stone  being  left  upon 
another.  He  then  preached  again  in  the  street,  some- 
what more  quietly  than  before  ;  but  the  rioters  became  very 
noisy  in  the  evening,  and  threatened  to  pull  down  the  house 
where  he  lodged.  He  went  out  to  them  and  made  a  suita- 
ble exhortation,  and  they  soon  afterwards  separated,  and 
peace  was  restored. 

At  five  the  next  morning,  he  took  leave  of  the  society 
in  these  words,  "  Confirming  the  souls  of  the  disciples, 
and  exhorting  them  to  continue  in  the  faith,  and  that  we 
must  through  much  tribulation  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God."  He  observes,  "  Our  hearts  were  knit  together,  and 
greatly  comforted :  we  rejoiced  in  hope  of  the  glorious 
appearing  of  the  great  God,  who  had  now  delivered  us 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  lions.  David  Taylor  had  inform- 
ed me,  that  the  people  of  Thorpe,  through  which  we 
should  pass,  were  exceedingly  mad  against  us.  So  we 
found  them  as  we  approached  the  place,  and  were  turn- 
ing down  the  lane  to  Barley-Hall.  The  ambush  rose,  and 
assaulted  us  with  stones,  eggs,  and  dirt.  My  horse  flew 
from  side  to  side,  till  he  found  his  way  through  them. 
They  wounded  David  Taylor  in  Ihe  forehead,  and  the 
wound  bled  much.  I  turned  back,  and  asked  what  was 
the  reason,  that  a  clergyman  could  not  pass  without  such 
treatment.  At  first  the  rioters  scattered,  but  their  captain 
rallying  them,  answered  with  horrible  imprecations  and 
stones.  My  horse  took  fright,  and  turned  away  with  me 
down  a  steep  hill.  The  enemy  pursued  me  from  afar, 
and  followed  shouting.  Blessed  be  God,  I  received  no 
hurt,  only  from  the  eggs  and  dirt.    '  My  clothes  indeed 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


103 


abhorred  me,'  and  my  arm  pained  me  a  little  from  a  blow 
I  received  at  Sheffield."* 

Snch  was  the  calm  heroism  Avith  which  these  admira- 
ble men  prosecuted  their  early  labours;  shrinking  from  no 
danger,  and  firmly  trusting  their  lives  in  the  hands  of  God. 
Proceeding  to  Leeds,  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  preached  "  to 
thousands,"  before  Mr.  Shent's  door,  and  found  the  people 
"  prepared  for  the  Lord."  The  clergy  of  Leeds  treated 
him  with  respect  and  deference,  and  obliged  him  to  assist 
at  the  sacrament :  such  indeed  was  their  kindness,  that  he 
began  to  fear  this  gleam  of  sunshine,  "  more  than  the 
stones  at  Sheffield."  He  then  went  on  to  Newcastle, 
where  he  not  only  abounded  in  public  labours,  but,  as  fhe 
society  had  rapidly  increased,  he  instituted  a  strict  inves- 
tigation into  their  spiritual  state,  accurately  distinguishing 
between  animal  emotions,  and  the  true  work  of  God  in 
the  heart,  and  leading  all  to  try  themselves  by  the  only 
infallible  rule,  their  conformity  to  the  word  of  God.  So 
unjust  are  the  insinuations,  that  the  founders  of  Method- 
ism allowed  excited  affi;ctions  to  pass  as  admitted  proofs 
of  a  change  of  heart.  On  tliis  visit  to  Newcastle,  Mr- 
Charles  Wesley  remarks  in  his  Journal,  that,  since  he  had 
preached  the  Gospel,  he  had  never  had  greater  success  than 
at  this  time  at  Newcastle.  Soon  after,  his  brother  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  place  for  the  public  worship  of  the  soci- 
ety, the  size  of  which  greatly  startled  some  of  the  people, 
as  they  doubted  whether  money  could  be  raised  to  finish 
it.  "  I  was  of  another  mind,"  he  observes,  "  nothing 
doubting,  but  as  it  was  begun  for  the  Lord's  sake,  he 
would  provide  what  Avas  needful  for  finishing  it."  Many 
pecuniary  difficulties  arose  in  the  completion  of  this  work : 
but  he  received  timelj'  supplies  of  money,  sometimes  from 
very  unexpected  quarters.  During  this  year  new  socie- 
ties were  formed  in  the  western,  midland,  and  northern 
counties,  whilst  those  before  collected  continued  greatly 
to  increase. 

In  the  latter  end  of  this  year,  1743,  Mr.  Wesley  ap- 
pointed in  London  visiters  of  the  sick,  as  a  distinct  office 
in  his  society.    He  says,  "  It  was  not  long  before  the  stew- 
ards found  a  great  difficulty,  with  regard  to  the  sick. 
♦Journal 


104 


LIFE  OV  WESLEY. 


Some  were  ready  to  perish  before  they  knew  of  their  ill- 
ness. And  wlien  they  did  know,  it  was  not  in  their  pow- 
er, (being  persons  generally  employed  in  trade,)  to  visit 
them  so  often  as  they  desired.  When  I  was  apprized  of 
this,  I  laid  the  case  at  large  before  the  whole  society ; 
showed  how  impossitJe  it  was  for  the  stewards  to  attend 
all  that  were  sick  in  all  parts  of  the  town ;  desired  the 
leaders  of  the  classes  would  moi'e  carefully  inquire,  and 
more  constantly  inform  them,  who  were  sick  ;  and  asked, 
"Wlio  among  you  is  willing,  as  well  as  able,  to  supply  this 
lack  of  service  ? 

"  The  next  morning,  many  willingly  offered  themselves. 
I  chose  six  and  forty  of  them,  whom  I  judged  to  be  of  the 
most  tender,  loving  spirit,  divided  the  town  into  twenty- 
three  parts,  and  desired  two  of  them  to  visit  the  sick  in 
each  division. 

"  It  is  the  business  of  a  visiter  of  the  sick, 
"1.  To  see  every  sick  person  within  his  district  thrice 
a  week.  2.  To  inquire  into  the  state  of  their  souls  and 
advise  them  as  occasion  may  require.  3.  To  inquire  in- 
to their  disorders,  and  procure  advice  for  them.  4.  To 
relieve  them  if  they  are  in  M'ant.  5.  To  do  any  thing 
for  them,  which  he  (or  she)  can  do.  6.  To  bring  in  his 
account  weekly  to  the  steward." — "  Upon  reflection,  I 
saw,  how  exactly  in  this  also  we  had  copied  after  the 
primitive  church.  What  were  the  ancient  deacons  1 
What  was  Phebe,  the  deaconess,  but  such  a  visiter  of  the 
sick? 

"  I  did  not  think  it  needful  to  give  them  any  particular 
rules,  besides  those  that  follow : — 

"1.  Be  plain  and  open  in  dealing  with  souls.  2.  Be 
mild,  tender,  patient.  3.  Be  cleanly  in  all  you  do  for  the 
sick.    4.  Be  not  nice." 

The  same  year  M^as  remarkable  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Wesley 
for  his  escape  from  one  of  the  most  dangerous  of  his 
encounters  witli  deluded  and  infuriated  mobs.  It  was 
first  incited  by  a  sermon  preached  in  Wcdnesbury  church, 
by  the  clergyman.  "  I  never,"  saj^s  Mr.  Wesley,  "  heard 
60  wicked  a  sermon,  and  delivered  with  such  bitterness  of 
voice  and  manner."  Whilst  Mr.  Wesley  was  at  Bristol, 
he  heard  of  the  effect  produced  by  this  charitable  address 


LIFE  or  WESLEY. 


105 


of  the  minister  to  his  parishioners,  who  was  assisted  in 
stirring  up  the  persecution  against  the  society,  as  was  very 
frequent  in  those  days,  by  tlie  neighbouring  magistrates, 
— full  of  what  tliey  called  ehurchmanship  and  loyalty.  At 
Wednesbur}^,  Darlaston,  and  ^^"est  Bromwich,  the  mobs 
were  stimulated  to  abuse  the  Methodists  in  tlie  most  out- 
rageous manner ;  even  women  and  children  were  beaten, 
stoned,  and  covered  with  mudj  their  houses  broken  open, 
and  their  goods  spoiled  or  carried  away.*  Mr.  Wesley 
hastened  to  comfort  and  advise  this  harassed  people  as 
soon  as  the  intelligence  reached  him,  and  preached  at  noon 
at  Wedncsbury  without  molestation ;  but  in  the  afternoon 
the  mob  surrounded  the  house.  The  result  will  best  be 
given  from  his  ovn\  account,  which  displays  at  once  his  own 
admirable  presence  of  mind,  and  the  singular  providence 
of  God:— 

"I  was  writing  at  Francis  Ward's  in  the  afternoon, 
when  the  cry  arose  that  the  mob  had  beset  the  house.  We 
prayed  that  God  would  disperse  them :  and  so  it  was;  one 
went  this  way  and  another  that,  so  that  in  half  an  hour 
not  a  man  was  left.  I  told  our  brethren.  Now  is  the  time 
to  go  ;  but  they  pressed  me  exceedingly  to  stay.  So,  that 
I  might  not  offend  them,  I  sat  down,  though  I  foresaw 
wliat  would  follow.  Before  five  the  mob  surrounded  the 
house  again,  and  in  greater  numbers  than  ever.  The  cry 
of  one  and  all  was,  '  Bring  out  the  minister,  we  will  have 
the  minister.'  I  desired  one  to  talie  the  captain  by  the 
hand  and  bring  him  into  the  house.  After  a  few  sentences, 
interchanged  between  us,  the  lion  Avas  become  a  lamb.  I 
desired  him  to  go,  and  bring  one  or  two  of  the  most  angry 
of  his  companions.  He  brought  in  two,  who  were  ready 
to  swallow  the  ground  with  rage;  but  in  two  minutes  they 
were  as  calm  as  he.  I  then  bade  them  make  way,  that  I 
might  go  out  among  the  people.  As  soon  as  I  was  in  the 
midst  of  them,  I  called  for  a  chair,  and  asked,  '  What  do 
any  of  you  want  with  me  V  Some  said,  '  We  want  you 
to  go  with  us  to  the  justice.'    I  replied,  '  That  I  will  with 

*  The  descendants  of  some  of  the.se  persecuted  people  still  remain, 
and  show,  one  a  cupboard,  another  some  other  piece  of  furniture,  the 
only  article  saved  from  the  wreck,  and  preserved  with  pious  care,  as 
a  monument  of  the  sufferings  of  their  ancestors. 

10* 


108 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


all  my  heart.'  I  then  spoke  a  few  words,  which  God  ap- 
plied ;  so  that  they  cried  out  with  might  and  main,  '  The 
gentleman  is  an  honest  gentleman,  and  we  will  spill  our 
blood  in  his  defence.'  I  asked, '  Shall  we  go  to  the  justice 
to-night,  or  in  the  morning?'  Most  of  them  cried,  'To- 
night, to-night !'  on  which  I  went  before,  and  two  or  three 
hundred  followed,  the  rest  returning  whence  they  came. 

"  The  night  came  on  before  we  had  walked  a  mile,  to- 
gether with  heavy  rain.  However,  on  we  went  to  Bent- 
ley-Hall,  two  miles  from  Wednesbury.  One  or  two  ran 
before,  to  tell  Mr.  Lane  they  had  brought  Mr.  Wesley  be- 
fore his  worship.  Mr.  Lane  replied,  '  What  have  I  to  do 
with  Mr.  Wesley?  Go  and  carry  him  back  again.'  By  this 
time  the  main  body  came  up,  and  began  knocking  at  the 
door.  A  servant  told  them  Mr.  Lane  was  in  bed.  His 
son  followed,  and  asked  what  was  the  matter.  One  replied, 
'  Why,  an't  please  you,  they  sing  psalms  all  day  ;  nay  and 
make  folks  rise  at  five  in  the  morning :  and  what  would 
your  worship  advise  us  to  do  ?'  '  To  go  home,'  said  Mr. 
Lane,  '  and  be  quiet.' 

"  Here  they  were  at  a  full  stop,  till  one  advised  to  go  to 
Justice  Persehouse,  at  Walsall.  All  agreed  to  this  ;  so  we 
hastened  on,  and  about  seven  came  to  his  house.  But  Mr. 
Persehouse  also  sent  word  that  he  was  in  bed.  Now  they 
were  at  a  stand  again  :  but  at  last  they  all  thought  it  the 
wisest  course  to  make  the  best  of  their  way  home.  About 
fifty  of  them  undertook  to  convoy  me ;  but  we  had  not 
gone  a  hundred  yards,  when  the  mob  of  Walsall  came 
pouring  in  like  a  flood,  and  bore  down  all  before  them. 
The  Darlaston  mob  made  what  defence  they  could;  but 
they  were  weary,  as  avcU  as  outnumbered ;  so  that,  in  a 
short  time,  many  being  knocked  down,  the  rest  went  away, 
and  left  me  in  their  hands. 

"  To  attempt  speaking  was  vain ;  for  the  noise  on  every 
Bide  was  like  the  roaring  of  the  sea :  So  they  dragged  me 
along  till  we  came  to  the  town,  where  seeing  the  door  of  a 
large  house  open,  I  attempted  to  go  in ;  but  a  man  catch- 
ing me  by  the  hair,  pulled  me  back  into  the  middle  of  the 
mob.  They  made  no  more  stop  till  they  had  carried  me 
through  the  main  street,  from  one  end  of  the  town  to  the 
other.   I  continued  speaking  all  the  time  to  those  within 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


107 


hearing,  feeling  no  pain  or  weariness.  At  the  west  end  of 
the  town,  seeing  a  door  half  open,  I  made  towards  it,  and 
would  have  gone  in ;  but  a  gentleman  in  the  shop  would 
not  suffer  me,  saying  they  would  pull  the  house  to  the 
ground.  However,  I  stood  at  the  door  and  asked,  '  Are 
you  willing  to  hear  me  speak  V  Many  cried  out,  '  No,  no  ! 
knock  his  brains  out ;  down  with  him ;  kill  "him  at  once.' 
Others  said,  '  Nay,  but  we  will  hear  him  first.'  I  began 
asking,  '  W\\at  evil  have  I  done  ?  Which  of  you  all  have 
I  wronged  in  word  or  deed  ?'  and  continued  speaking  for 
above  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  till  my  voice  suddenly  failed. 
Then  the  floods  began  to  lift  up  their  voice  again ;  many 
crying  out,  '  Bring  him  away  !  bring  him  away  !' 

"  In  the  meantime  my  strength  and  my  voice  returned, 
and  I  broke  out  aloud  into  prayer.  And  now  the  man 
who  just  before  headed  the  mob,  turned  and  said,  '  Sir,  I 
will  spend  my  life  for  you  ;  follow  me,  and  not  one  soul 
here  shall  touch  a  hair  of  your  head.'  Two  or  three  of 
his  fellows  confirmed  his  words,  and  got  close  to  me  im- 
mediately. At  the  same  time  the  gentleman  in  the  shop 
cried  out,  '  For  shame,  for  shame ;  let  him  go.'  An 
honest  butcher,  who  was  a  little  farther  off,  said  it  was  a 
shame  they  should  do  thus ;  and  pulled  back  four  or  five, 
one  after  another,  who  were  running  on  the  most  fiercely. 
The  people  then,  as  if  it  had  been  by  common  consent, 
fell  back  to  the  right  and  left ;  while  those  three  or  four 
men  took  me  between  them,  and  carried  me  through  them 
all :  but  on  the  bridge  the  mob  rallied  again ;  we  there- 
fore went  on  one  side,  over  the  mill-dam^  and  thence 
through  the  meadows ;  till,  a  little  before  ten,  God 
brought  me  safe  to  Weduesbury ;  having  lost  only  one 
flap  of  my  waistcoat,  and  a  little  skin  from  one  of  my 
hands. 

"  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  I  found  the  same  pre- 
sence of  mind  as  if  I  had  been  sitting  in  my  own  study. 
But  I  took  no  thought  for  one  moment  before  another ; 
only  once  it  came  into  my  mind,  that  if  they  should 
throw  me  into  the  river,  it  would  spoil  the  papers 
that  were  in  my  pocket.  For  myself,  I  did  not  doubt  but 
I  should  swim  across,  having  but  a  thin  coat,  and  a  light 
pair  of  boots. 


108 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


"  The  circumstances  that  follow  I  thought  were  parti- 
cularly remarkable:  1.  That  many  endeavoured  to  throw 
me  down  while  we  were  going  down-hill,  on  a  slippery 
path,  to  tlie  town;  as  well  judging,  tliat  if  I  was  once  on 
the  ground  I  should  hardly  rise  any  more.  But  I  made 
no  stumble  at  all,  nor  the  least  slip,  till  I  was  entirely  out 
of  their  hands.  2.  That  although  many  strove  to  lay 
hold  on  my  collar  or  clothes  to  pull  me  down,  they  could 
not  fasten  at  all ;  only  one  got  fast  hold  of  the  flap  of  my 
waistcoat,  which  was  soon  left  in  his  hand.  3.  That  a 
lusty  man  just  behind,  struck  at  me  several  times  with  a 
large  oaken  stick ;  with  which  if  he  had  struck  me  once 
on  the  back  part  of  my  head,  it  would  have  saved  him  all 
farther  trouble :  but  every  time  the  blow  was  turned  aside, 
I  know  not  how.  4.  That  another  came  rushing  through 
the  press,  and  raising  lijs  arm  to  strike,  on  a  sudden  let  it 
drop,  and  only  stroked  my  head,  saying,  '  What  soft  hair 
he  has !'  5.  That  I  stopped  exactly  at  the  mayor's  door, 
as  if  I  had  known  it,  which  the  mob  doubtless  thought  I 
did,  and  fomid  him  standing  in  the  shop ;  which  gave  the 
first  check  to  the  madness  of  tlie  people.  6.  That  the 
very  first  men  whose  hearts  were  turned,  were  the  heroes 
of  the  town,  the  captains  of  the  rabble  on  all  occasions ; 
one  of  them  having  been  a  prize-fighter  at  the  bear-gar- 
dens. 7.  That  from  first  to  last  I  heard  none  give  a 
reviling  word,  or  call  me  by  any  opprobrious  name  what- 
ever. But  the  cry  of  one  and  all  was,  '  The  preacher ! 
the  preacher !  the  parson !  the  minister !'  8.  That  no 
creature,  at  l.east  within  my  hearing,  laid  any  thing  to  my 
charge,  either  true  or  false;  having  in  the  hurry  quite 
forgot  to  provide  themselves  with  an  accusation  of  any 
kind.  And,  lastly,  they  were  utterly  at  a  loss  what  they 
should  do  with  me ;  none  proposing  any  determinate 
thing,  only,  '  Away  with  him ;  kill  him  at  once.' 

"  When  I  came  back  to  Francis  Ward's,  I  found  many 
of  our  brethren  waiting  upon  God.  Many  also,  whom  I 
had  never  seen  before,  came  to  rejoice  with  us ;  and  the 
next  morning  as  I  rode  through  the  town,  in  my  way  to 
Nottingham,  every  one  I  met  expressed  such  a  cordial  af- 
fection, that  I  could  scarce  believe  what  I  saw  and  heard." 

At  Nottingham  he  met  with  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  wlio 


LIFE  or  WESLEY. 


109 


has  inserted  in  his  Journal  a  notice  of  the  meeting,  highly- 
characteristic  of  the  spirit  of  martyrdom  in  which  both 
of  them  lived  : — 

"  My  brother  came,  delivered  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
lions  !  His  clothes  were  torn  to  tatters ;  he  looked  like  a 
soldier  of  Christ.  The  mob  of  Wednesbury,  Darlaston, 
and  Walsall,  were  permitted  to  take  and  carry  him  about 
for  several  hours,  with  a  full  intent  to  murder  him :  but 
his  work  is  not  yet  finished,  or  he  liad  been  now  with  the 
souls  under  the  altar."  Undaunted  by  the  usage  of  John, 
Charles  immediately  set  out  for  Wednesbury,  to  encou- 
rage the  societies. 

In  this  year  Mr.  Wesley  made  his  first  journey  into 
Cornwall,  where  his  brother,  led  by  the  same  sympathies 
to  communicate  the  Gospel  to  the  then  rude  and  neglected 
miners  of  that  extreme  part  of  the  kingdom,  as  had  in- 
duced him  to  visit  the  colliers  of  Kingswood,  Staffordshire, 
and  the  North,  had  preceded  him.  Here  he  had  preached 
in  various  places,  sometimes  amidst  mobs,  "  as  desperate 
as  that  at  Sheffield."  Mr.  Wesley  followed  in  August,  and 
came  to  St.  Ives,  where  he  found  a  small  religious  society, 
which  had  been  formed  upon  Dr.  Woodward's  nlan.  They 
gladly  received  him,  and  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Metho- 
dist societies  in  Cornwall,  which  from  this  time  rapidly 
increased.  In  this  visit  he  spent  three  weeks,  preaching 
in  the  most  populous  parts  of  the  mining  district,  with  an 
effect  which  still  continues  to  be  felt.  In  no  part  of  Eng- 
land has  Methodism  obtained  more  influence  than  in  the 
west,  of  Cornwall.  It  has  become  in  fact  the  leading 
profession  of  the  people,  and  its  moral  effects  upon  society 
may  be  looked  upon  with  the  highest  satisfaction  and 
gratitude.  Nor  were  the  Cornish  people  ungrateful  to 
the  instrument  of  the  benefit.  When  he  was  last  in  the 
county,  in  old  age,  the  man  who  had  formerly  slept  on 
the  ground  for  want  of  a  lodging,  and  picked  black-ber- 
ries to  satisfy  his  hunger,  and  who  had  narrowly  escaped 
with  his  life  from  a  desperate  mob  at  Falmouth,  passed 
through  the  towns  and  villages  as  in  a  triumphal  march, 
whilst  the  windows  were  crowded  with  people,  anxious 
to  get  a  sight  of  him,  and  to  pronounce  upon  him  their 
benedictions." 


110 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


Between  this  visit  and  that  of  the  next  year,  a  hot 
persecution,  both  of  the  preachers  and  people,  broke 
forth.  The  preaching-house  at  St.  Ives  was  pulled  to 
the  ground:  one  of  the  preachers  was  impressed  and  sent 
for  a  soldier,  as  were  several  of  the  people :  whilst  being 
stoned,  covered  with  dirt,  and  abused,  was  the  treatment 
which  many  others  of  them  met  with  from  day  to  day. 
But  notwithstanding  this,  they  who  had  been  eminent 
for  hurling,  fighting,  drinking,  and  all  manner  of  wicked- 
ness, continued  eminent  for  sobriety,  piety,  and  meek- 
ness. The  impressment  of  the  preachers  for  soldiers  by 
the  magistrates  was  not,  however,  confined  to  Cornwall. 
About  the  same  time  John  Nelson  and  Thomas  Beard 
Avere  thus  seized  and  sent  for  soldiers,  for  no  other  crime, 
either  committed  or  pretended,  than  that  of  calling  sin- 
ners to  repentance.  The  passive  heroism  of  John  Nel- 
son is  well  known.  Thomas  Beard  also  was  "nothing 
terrified  by  his  adversaries but  his  body  after  a  while 
sunk  under  affliction.  He  was  then  lodged  in  the  hos- 
pital of  Newcastle,  where  he  still  praised  God  continu- 
ally. His  fever  increasing,  he  was  let  blood :  his  arm 
festered,  mortified,  and  was  cut  off;  two  or  three  days 
after  which,  God  signed  his  discharge,  and  called  him  to 
his  eternal  home. 

The  riots  in  Staffordshire,  also,  still  continued.  "  The 
mob  of  Walsall,  Darlaston,  and  Wednesbury,  hired  for  the 
purpose  by  their  superiors,  broke  open  tlieir  poor  neigh- 
bours' houses  at  their  pleasure  by  day  and  by  night ;  ex- 
torting money  from  the  few  that  had  it,  taking  away  or 
destroying  their  victuals  and  goods,  beating  and  wound- 
ing their  bodies,  insulting  the  women,  and  openly  declar- 
ing they  would  destroy  every  Methodist  in  the  country. 
Thus  his  majesty's  peaceable  and  loyal  subjects  were 
treated  for  eight  months,  and  were  then  publicly  branded 
in  the  Whitehall  and  London  Evening  Post,  for  rioters 
and  incendiaries  !"* 

Several  other  instances  of  the  brutal  maltreatment  of 
the  preachers  occurred  in  these  early  periods,  which 
ended  in  disablement,  or  premature  death.  The  persecu- 
tion at  St.  Ives  Mr.  Wesley  observes,  "was  owing  in 
*  Whitehead's  Life. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


great  measure  to  the  indefatigable  labours  of  Mr.  Hoblin, 
and  Mr.  Simmons,  gentlemen  worthy  to  be  had  in  ever- 
lasting remembrance  for  their  imwearied  endeavours  to 
destroy  heresy. 

Fortxinati  ambo!  Siqnid  mea  paffina  possit, 
NuUa  dies  unquam  memori  vos  eiimet  cevo. 

"  Happy  both !  Long  as  my  writings,  shall  your  fame 
remain." 

In  August,  1744,  Mr.  John  Wesley  preached  for  the 
last  time  before  the  university  of  Oxford.  Mr.  Charles 
Wesley  was  present,  and  observes  in  his  journal :  "  My 
brother  bore  his  testimony  before  a  crowded  audience, 
much  increased  by  the  races.  Never  have  I  seen  a  more  at- 
tentive congregation ;  they  did  not  suffer  a  word  to  escape 
them.  Some  of  the  heads  of  colleges  stood  up  the  whole 
time,  and  fixed  their  eyes  upon  him.  If  they  can  endure 
sound  doctrine,  like  his,  he  will  surely  leave  a  blessing  be- 
hind him.  The  vice-chancellor  sent  after  him,  and  desired 
his  notes,  which  he  scaled  up  and  sent  immediately." 

His  own  remarks  upon  this  occasion  are,  "I  am  now 
clear  of  the  blood  of  those  men.  I  have  fully  delivered 
my  own  soul.  And  I  am  well  pleased  that  it  should  be 
the  very  day  on  which,  in  the  last  centurj'.  near  two 
thousand  burning  and  shining  lights  were  put  out  at  one 
stroke.  Yet  Avhat  a  wide  difference  is  there  between  their 
case  and  mine !  They  were  turned  out  of  house  and  home, 
and  all  that  they  had  ;  whereas  I  am  only  hindered  from 
preaching  in  one  place,  without  any  other  loss,  and  that  in 
a  kind  of  honourable  manner  ;  it  being  determined,  that, 
when  my  next  turn  to  preach  came,  they  would  pay  an- 
other person  to  preach  for  me.  And  so  they  did  twice  or 
thrice,  even  to  the  time  I  resigned  my  felloM'ship."* 

Mr.  Wesley  had  at  this  time  a  correspondence  with  the 
Rev.  James  Erskine,  from  whom  he  learned  that  several 
pious  ministers  and  others,  in  Scotland,  duly  appreciated 
his  character,  and  rejoiced  in  the  success  of  his  labours, 
notwithstanding  the  difference  of  their  sentiments.  Mr. 
Erskine's  letter  indeed  contains  a  paragraph  which  breathes 
a  liberality  not  very  common  in  those  days,  and  which 

*  Journal. 


112 


LIPB  OP  WESLEY. 


may  be  useful  in  the  present,  after  all  our  boastings  of 
enlarged  charity  :  "  Are  the  points  whicli  give  the  differ- 
ent denominations,  (to  Christians,)  and  from  whence  pro- 
ceed separate  communities,  animosities,  evil-speakings, 
surmises,  and,  at  least,  coolness  of  affection,  aptness  to 
misconstrue,  slowness  to  think  well  of  others,  stiffness  in 
one's  own  conceits,  and  overvaluing  one's  own  opinion, 
&c.,  &c.,  are  these  points  (at  least  among  the  far  greatest 
part  of  protestants)  as  important,  as  clearly  revealed,  and 
as  essential,  or  as  closely  connected  with  the  essentials  of 
practical  Christianity,  as  the  loving  of  one  another  With  a 
pure  heart  fervently,  and  not  forsaking,  much  less  refu- 
sing, the  assembling  of  ourselves  together,  as  the  manner 
of  some  was,  and  now  of  almost  all  is  ?"* 

In  a  subsequent  letter  this  excellent  man  expresses  an 
ardent  wish  for  union  among  all  those  of  different  denomi- 
nations and  opinions  who  love  tlie  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  and 
on  such  a  subject,  he  was  speaking  to  a  kindred  mind ;  for 
no  man  ever  set  ii  better  example  of  Christian  charity,  and 
nowhere  is  the  excellence  and  obligation  of  that  temper 
more  forcibly  drawn  and  inculcated  than  in  his  most  in- 
teresting sermon  on  "A  Catholic  Spirit."  With  such  a 
testimony  and  example  before  them,  his  foDowers  would 
be  the  most  inexcusable  class  of  Christians  were  they  to 
indulge  in  that  selfish  sectarianism  Avith  which  he  was  so 
often  unjustly  charged  ;  and  for  which  tliey,  though  not 
faultless  in  this  respect,  have  also  been  censured  more 
frequently  and  indiscriminately  than  they  have  merited. 
It  would  scarcely  be  doing  justice  to  this  part  of  Mr. 
Wesley's  character  not  to  insert  an  extract  from  the  ser- 
mon alluded  to : — 

"  Is  thy  heart  right  with  God  ?  If  it  be,  give  me  thy 
hand.  I  do  not  mean,  '  Be  of  my  opinion.'  You  need 
not.  I  do  not  expect  or  desire  it.  Neither  do  I  mean, 
'  I  will  be  of  your  opinion.'  I  cannot.  It  does  not  de- 
pend on  my  choice  ;  I  can  no  more  think,  than  I  can  see 
or  hear,  as  I  will.  Keep  you  your  opinion :  I  mine  ;  and 
that  as  steadily  as  ever.  You  need  not  endeavour  to 
come  over  to  me,  or  bring  me  over  to  you.  I  do  not  de- 
sire you  to  dispute  those  points,  or  to  hear  or  speak  one 
^      *  Journal. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


113 


word  concerning  them.  Let  all  opinions  alone  on  one 
side  and  the  other.    Only  '  give  me  thine  hand.' 

"  I  do  not  mean,  '  Embrace  my  modes  of  worship  ;  or, 
I  will  embrace  yours.'  This  also  is  a  thing  which  does 
not  depend  either  on  your  choice  or  mine.  We  must 
both  act  as  each  is  fully  persuaded  in  his  ovm  mind. 
Hold  you  fast  that  which  you  believe  is  most  acceptable 
ta  God,  and  I  will  do  tlie  same.  I  believe  the  Episcopal 
form  of  church-government  to  be  scriptural  and  aposto- 
lical. If  you  think  the  Presbyterian  or  Independent  is 
better,  think  so  still,  and  act  accordingly.  I  believe  in- 
fants ought  to  be  baptized,  and  that  this  may  be  done 
either  by  dipping  or  sprinkling.  If  you  are  otherwise 
persuaded,  be  so  still,  and  follow  your  own  persuasion. 
It  appears  to  me,  that  forms  of  prayer  are  of  excellent  use, 
particularly  in  the  great  congregation.  If  you  judge  ex- 
temporary prayer  to  be  of  more  use,  act  suitable  to  your 
own  judgment.  My  sentiment  is,  that  1  ought  not  to  for- 
bid water,  wherein  pertions  may  be  baptized  ;  and,  that  I 
ought  to  eat  bread  and  drink  wine,  as  memorials  of  my 
dying  master.  However,  if  j-ou  are  not  convinced  of  this, 
act  according  to  the  light  you  have.  I  have  no  desire  to 
dispute  with  you  one  moment  upon  any  of  the  preceding 
heads.  Let  all  these  smaller  points  stand  aside.  Let 
them  never  come  into  sight.  '  i;  thine  heart  be  as  my 
heart,'  if  thou  love  God  and  all  mankind,  I  ask  no  more : 
'  Give  me  thy  hand.' 

"  I  mean.  First,  love  me.  And  that  not  only  as  thou 
lovest  all  mankind  ;  not  only  as  thou  lovest  thine  enemies, 
or  the  enemies  of  God,  those  that  hate  thee,  that  'despite- 
fully  use  thee,  and  persecute  thee :'  not  only  as  a  stranger, 
as  one  of  whom  thou  knowest  neither  good  nor  evil.  I 
am  not  satisfied  with  this.  No  ;  '  If  thine  heart  be  right, 
as  mine  with  thy  heart,'  then  love  me  with  a  very  tender 
affection,  as  a  friend  that  is  closer  than  a  brother,  as  a 
brother  in  Christ,  a  fellow-citizen  of  the  New  Jerusalem, 
a  fellow-soldier  engaged  in  the  same  warfare,  under  the 
same  captain  of  our  salvation.  Love  me  as  a  companion 
in  the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus,  and  a  joint  heir  of 
his  glory. 

"Love  me  (but  in  a  higher  degree  than  thou  dost  the 
11 


114 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


bulk  of  mankind)  with  the  love  that  is  '  long-suffering 
and  kind ;'  that  is  patient,  if  I  am  ignorant  or  out  of  the 
way,  bearing  and  not  increasing  my  burden ;  and  is  tender, 
soft,  and  compassionate  still ;  that  '  envieth  not,'  if  at 
any  time  it  please  God  to  prosper  me  in  this  work  even 
more  than  thee.  Love  me  with  the  love  that  '  is  not  pro- 
voked' either  at  my  follies  or  infirmities,  or  even  at  my 
acting  (if  it  should  sometimes  so  appear  to  thee)  not 
according  to  the  will  of  God.  Love  me  so  as  to  '  think 
no  evil'  of  me,  to  put  away  all  jealousy  and  evil  surmi- 
sing. Love  me  with  the  love  that  '  covereth  all  things 
that  never  reveals  either  my  faults  or  infirmities  ;  that 
'  believeth  all  things,'  is  always  willing  to  think  the  best, 
to  put  the  fairest  construction  on  all  my  words  and  ac- 
tions ;  that  '  hopcth  all  things ;'  eitlier  that  the  thing  rela- 
ted was  never  done,  or  not  done  with  such  circumstances 
as  are  related  ;  or  at  least,  that  it  was  done  with  a  good 
intention,  or  in  a  sudden  stress  of  temptation.  And  hope 
to  the  end,  that  whatever  is  amiss  will,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  be  corrected,  and  whatever  is  wanting  supplied, 
through  the  riches  of  his  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus."* 

And  then,  having  shown  how  a  catholic  spirit  differs 
from  practical  and  speculative  latitudinarianism  and  indif- 
ference, he  concludes :  "  A  man  of  a  catholic  spirit  is  one 
who,  in  the  manner  above-mentioned,  '  gives  his  hand'  to 
all  whose  '  hearts  are  right  with  his  heart.'  One  who 
knows  how  to  value  and  praise  God  for  all  the  advantages 
he  enjoys,  with  regard  to  the  knowledge  of  the  things  of 
God,  the  true  scriptural  manner  of  worshipping  him  ;  and 
above  all,  his  imion  with  a  congregation  fearing  God 
and  working  righteousness.  One  who,  retaining  these 
blessings  with  the  strictest  care,  keeping  them  as  the 
apple  of  his  eye,  at  the  same  time  loves  as  friends,  as 
brethren  in  the  Lord,  as  members  of  Christ  and  children 
of  God,  as  joint  partakers  now  of  the  present  kingdom  of 
God,  and  fellow-heirs  of .  his  eternal  kingdom,  all,  of 
whatever  opinion,  or  worship,  or  congregation,  who  be- 
lieve in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  love  God  and  man, 
who,  rejoicing  to  please  and  fearing  to  offend  God,  are 
careful  to  abstain  from  evil,  and  zealous  of  good  works. 
♦  Seniioni5. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


115 


He  is  the  man  of  a  truly  catholic  spirit,  who  bears  all 
these  continually  upon  his  heart,  who,  having  an  unspeak- 
able tenderness  for  their  persons,  and  longing  for  their 
welfare,  does  not  cease  to  commend  them  to  God  in 
prayer,  as  well  as  to  plead  their  cause  before  men ;  who 
speaks  comfortably  to  them,  and  labours  by  all  his  words 
to  strengthen  their  hands  in  God.  He  assists  them  to 
the  uttermost  of  his  power  in  all  things,  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral. He  is  ready  '  to  spend  and  be  spent  for  them ;'  yea, 
'  to  lay  down  his  life  for  their  sake.'  "* 

The  first  Conference  was  held  in  .Tune,  1744.  The 
societies  had  spread  through  various  parts  of  the  kingdom ; 
and  a  number  of  preachers,  under  the  name  of  assistants 
and  helpers,  the  former  being  superintendents  of  the  lat- 
ter, had  been  engaged  by  Mr.  AVesley  in  the  work.  Some 
clergymen,  also,  more  or  less  co-operated  to  promote 
these  attempts  to  spread  the  flame  of  true  religion,  and 
were  not  yet  afraid  of  the  cross.  These  circumstances  led 
to  the  distribution  of  different  parts  of  the  kingdom  into 
circuits,  to  which  certain  preachers  were  for  a  time  ap- 
pointed, and  were  then  removed  to  others.  The  super- 
intendence of  the  whole  was  in  the  two  brothers,  but  par- 
ticularly in  Mr.  John  Wesley.  The  annual  conferences 
afforded,  therefore,  an  admirable  opportunity  of  conversing 
on  important  points  and  distinctions  of  doctrine,  that  all 
might  "speak  the  same  thing"  in  their  public  ministrations  ; 
and  of  agreeing  upon  such  a  discipline  as  the  new  circum- 
stances in  w])ich  the  societies  were  placed  might  require. 
The  labours  of  the  preachers  for  the  ensuing  year  were  also 
arranged  ;  and  consultation  was  held  on  all  matters  con- 
nected with  the  promotion  of  the  wor^)f  God,  in  which 
they  were  engaged.  Every  thing  wenff)n,  however,  not 
on  preconceived  plan,  but  "  step  by  step,"  as  circum- 
stances suggested,  and  led  the  way.  To'  the  great  princi- 
ple of  doing  good  to  the  souls  of  men,  every  thing  was 
subordinated;  not  excepting  even  their  prejudices  and 
fears,  as  will  appear  from  the  minutes  of  the  first  con- 
ference, which  was  held  in  I,ondon,  as  just  stated,  in 
1744.  The  ultimate  separation  of  the  societies  from 
the  church,  after  the  death  of  the  first  Sgents  in  the  work, 
♦  Sermons. 


116 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


was  at  that  early  period  contemplated  as  a  possibility^ 
and  made  a  subject  of  conversation ;  and  tlie  resolution 
was,  "  We  do  and  will  do  all  we  can  to  prevent  those  con- 
sequences which  are  supposed  to  be  likely  to  happen  after 
our  death ;  but  we  cannot,  in  good  conscience,  neglect  the 
present  opportunity  of  saving  souls  while  we  live,  for  fear 
of  consequences  which  may  possibly,  or  probably,  happen 
after  we  are  dead."  To  this  principle  Mr.  Wesley  was 
"  faithful  unto  death,"  and  it  is  tlie  true  key  to  his  public 
conduct.  His  brother,  after  some  years,  less:  steadily  ad- 
hered to  it ;  and  most  of  the  clergymen,  who  attached 
themselves  to  Mr.  Wesley  in  the  earlier  periods  of  INIethod- 
ism,  found  it  too  bold  a  position,  and  one  which  exposed 
them  to  too  severe  a  fire,  to  be  maintained  by  them.  It 
required  a  firmer  courage  tlian  theirs  to  hold  out  at  such 
a  post ;  but  the  founder  of  Metliodism  never  betrayed  the 
trust  which  circumstances  had  laid  upon  him. 


CHAPTER  VHI. 

The  year  174.5  was  chiefly  spent  by  Mr.  Charles  Wes- 
ley in  London,  Bristol,  and  Wales.  In  the  early  part  of 
the  next  year,  he  paid  a  visit  to  a  society  raised  up  by  Mr. 
Whitefield  at  Plymouth,  and  from  thence  proceeded  into 
Cornwall,  where  he  preached  in  various  places  with  great 
success ;  but  in  some  of  them  amidst  much  persecution. 
He  reviewed  this  journey  with  great  thankfulness,  because 
of  the  effects  which  had  been  produced  by  his  ministry  ; 
and  at  the  close  of  it  he  wrote  the  hymn  beginning  with 
the  stanza, —  # 

"All  thanks  he  to  God, 
JVho  scatters  abroad 
Throughout  every  place, 
By  the  least  of  his  servants,  his  savour  of  grace : 
Who  the  victory  gave 
The  praise  let  Him  have ; 
For  the  work  he  hath  done ; 
All  honour  and  glory  to  Jesus  alone !" 
On  his  return  to  London,  through  the  introduction  of 
Mr.  B.  Perronet,  a  pious  young  man,  he  visited  the  Rev. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


117 


Vincent  Perronet,  the  venerable  vicar  of  Shoreliam  in 
Kent,  a  very  holy  and  excellent  clergyman,  of  whose  wise 
and  considerate  counsels  the  Wesleys  afterwards  frequently 
availed  themselves,  in  all  matters  which  involved  particular 
difficulty.  The  name  of  Wesley  was  however,  it  seems, 
everywhere  become  a  signal  for  riot ;  for  being  invited  to 
perform  service  in  Slioreham  church,  "  as  soon,"  says  he, 
"  as  I  began  to  preach,  the  wild  beasts  began  roaring, 
stamping,  blaspheming,  ringing  the  bells,  and  turning  the 
church  into  a  bear-garden.  I  spoke  on  for  half  an  hour, 
though  only  the  nearest  could  hear.  The  rioters  followed 
us  to  Mr.  Perrohet's  house,  raging,  threatening,  and  throw- 
ing stones.  Charles  Perronet  hung  over  me  to  intercept 
the  blows.  They  continued  their  uproar  after  we  got 
into  the  house.''*  Mr.  E.  Perronet  returned  with  him  to 
London,  and  accompanied  him  on  a  tour  to  the  north. 
On  the  way,  they  visited  Staffordshire,  which  was  still 
riotous  and  persecuting  ;  and  Mr.  Charles  Wesley's  young 
friend  had  a  second  specimen  of  the  violent  and  ignorant 
prejudice  with  which  these  modern  apostles  were  followed. 
The  mob  beset  the  house  at  Tippen  Green,  and,  beating 
at  the  door,  demanded  entrance.  "  I  sat  still,"  says  he, 
"  in  tlie  midst  of  them  for  half  an  hour,  and  was  a  little 
concerned  for  E.  Perronet,  lest  such  rough  treatment,  at 
his  first  setting  out,  should  daunt  him.  But  he  abounded 
in  valour,  and  was  for  reasoning  with  the  wild  beasts  be- 
fore they  had  spent  any  of  their  violence.  He  got  a  deal 
of  abuse  thereby,  and  not  a  little  dirt,  both  of  which  he 
took  very  patiently.  I  had  no  design  to  preach :  but 
being  called  upon  by  so  unexpected  a  congregation,  I  rose 
at  last,  and  read,  '  ^VTien  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his 
glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  shall  he  sit 
on  the  throne  of  his  glory.'  While  I  reasoned  with  them 
of  judgment  to  come,  they  grew  calmer  by  little  and  little. 
I  then  spake  to  them,  one  by  one,  till  the  Lord  had  dis- 
armed them  all.  One  who  stood  out  the  longest,  I  held 
by  the  hand,  and  urged  the  love  of  Christ  crucified,  till,  in 
spite  of  both  his  natural  and  diabolical  courage,  he  trem- 
bled like  a  leaf.    I  was  constrained  to  break  out  into 


♦Journal. 
11*. 


118 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


prayer  for  him.  Our  leopards  were  all  become  lamba  j 
and  very  kind  we  were  at  parting.  Near  midnight  the 
house  was  clear  and  quiet.  We  gave  thanks  to  God  for 
our  salvation,  and  slept  in  peace."* 

Proceeding  onward  to  Dewsbury,  he  met  with  an  instance 
of  clerical  candour,  which,  as  it  was  rare  in  those  times, 
deserves  to  be  recorded  :  "  The  minister  did  not  condemn 
the  society  unheard,  but  talk-cd  witli  them,  examined  into 
the  doctrine  they  had  been  taught,  and  its  effects  on  their 
hves.  When  he  found  that  as  many  as  had  been  affected 
by  the  preaching  were  evidently  reformed,  and  brought 
to  church  and  sacrament,  he  testifled  his  approbation  of 
the  work,  and  rejoiced  that  sinners  were  converted  to 
God."t 

After  visiting  Newcastle,  he  went,  at  the  request  of  Mr. 
Wardrobe,  a  dissenting  minister,  to  Hexham,  where  the 
following  incidents  occurred :  "  I  walked  directly  to  the 
market-place,  and  called  sinners  to  repentance.  A  mul- 
titude of  them  stood  staring  at  me,  but  all  quiet.  The 
Lord  opened  my  mouth,  and  they  drew  nearer  and  near- 
er, stole  off  their  hats,  and  listened  ;  none  offered  to  in- 
terrupt, but  one  unfortunate  esquire  who  could  get  no 
one  to  second  him.  His  servants  and  the  constables  hid 
themselves ;  one  he  found,  and  bid  him  go  and  take  me 
down.  The  poor  constable  simply  answered.  Sir,  I  can- 
not have  the  face  to  do  it,  for  what  harm  does  he  do  V 
Several  papists  attended,  and  the  church  minister  who 
had  refused  me  his  pulpit  with  indignation.  However  he 
came  to  hear  with  his  own  ears.  I  wish  all  who  hang  us 
first  would,  like  him,  try  us  afterwards. 

"  I  walked  back  to  Mr.  Ord's  through  the  people,  who 
acknowledged,  'It  is  the  truth,  and  none  can  speak  against 
it.'  A  constable  followed,  and  told  me,  '  Sir  Edward 
Black et  orders  you  to  ch'sperse  the  town,'  (depart,  I  suppose 
he  meant,)  '  and  not  raise  a  disturbance  here.'  I  sent  my 
respects  to  Sir  Edward,  and  said,  if  he  would  give  me 
leave,  I  would  wait  upon  him  and  satisfy  him.  He  soon 
returned  with  an  answer,  that  Sir  Edward  would  liave 
nothing  to  say  to  me ;  but  if  I  preached  again,  and  raised 


Journal. 


t  Whitehead'6  Life. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


119 


a  disturbance,  he  would  put  the  law  in  execution  against 
me.  I  answered  that  I  was  not  conscious  of  breaking  any 
law  of  God  or  man ;  but  if  I  did,  I  was  ready  to  suffer  the 
penalty;  that,  as  I  had  not  given  notice  of  preachmg 
again  at  the  Cross,  I  should  not  preach  again  at  that  place, 
nor  cause  a  disturbance  anywhere.  I  charged  the  consta- 
ble, a  trembling,  submissive  soul,  to  assure  his  worship 
that  I  reverenced  him  for  his  office'  sake.  The  only  place 
I  could  get  to  preach  in  was  a  cock-pit,  and  I  expected 
Satan  would  come  and  fight  me  on  his  own  ground. 
^Squire  Roberts,  the  justice's  son,  laboured  hard  to  raise  a 
mob,  for  which  I  was  to  be  answerable  ;  but  the  very  boys 
ran  away  from  him,  when  the  poor  'squire  persuaded 
them  to  go  down  to  the  cock-pit  and  cry  fire.  I  called, 
in  words  then  first  heard  in  that  place,  '  Repent  and  be 
converted,  that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out.'  God 
struck  the  hard  rock,  and  the  waters  gushed  out.  Never 
have  I  seen  a  people  more  desirous  of  knowing  the  truth 
at  the  first  hearing.  I  passed  the  evening  in  conference 
with  Mr.  Wardrobe.  O  tluit  all  our  dissenting  ministers 
were  like-minded,  then  would  all  dissensions  cease  for 
ever!  November  28111,  at  six,  we  assembled  again  in  our 
chapel,  the  cock-pit.  I  imagined  myself  in  the  Pantheon, 
or  some  heathen  temple,  and  almost  scrupled  preach 
ing  there  at  first ;  but  we  found  '  the  earth  is  the  Lord's, 
and  the  fulness  thereof.'  His  presence  consecrated  the 
place.  Never  have  I  found  a  greater  sense  of  God  than 
while  we  were  repeating  his  own  prayer.  I  set  before 
their  eyes  Christ  crucified.  The  rocks  v/ere  melted,  and 
gracious  tears  flowed.  We  knew  not  how  to  part.  I 
distributed  some  books  among  them,  which  they  received 
with  the  utmost  eagerness,  begging  me  to  come  again,  and 
to  send  our  preaclicrs  to  them."* 

After  preaching  in  various  parts  of  Lincolnshire,  and 
the  midland  counties,  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  returned  to 
London  :  but  soon,  with  unwearied  spirit,  in  company  with 
Mr.  Minton,  he  set  off  for  Bristol,  taking  Devizes  by  the 
way,  where  he  hud  as  narrow  an  escape  for  his  life  as  his 
brother  had  experienced  at  Wcdnesbury.  An  account  of 
these  distinguished  ministers  of  Christ  would  be  imperfect 
*  Journal. 


120 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


without  a  particular  notice  of  a  few  of  their  greatest  perils. 
They  show  the  wretched  state  of  that  country  which  they 
were  the  appointed  instruments  of  raising  into  a  higher 
moral  and  civil  condition,  and  they  illustrate  their  own 
character.  Each  of  the  brothers  might  truly  say  with  an 
apostle,  and  his  coadjutors,  "  We  have  not  received  the 
spirit  of  fear,  but  of  power,  (courage,)  of  love,  and'  of  a 
sound  mind."  They  felt,  too,  that  they  had  "received"  it; 
for,  Avith  them,  "  boasting  was  excluded"  by  that  "  law  of 
faith"  -which  led  them  in  all  things  to  trust  in  and  glorify 
God.  The  account  is  taken  from  Mr.  Charles  Wesley's 
Journal.  The  Devizes  mob  had  this  peculiarity,  that  it 
was  led  on  not  only  by  the  curate,  but  by  two  dissenters; 
thus  "  Herod  and  Pilate  were  made  friends :" — 

"February  25th,— a  day  never  to  be  forgotten.  At 
seven  o'clock  I  walked  quietly  to  Mrs.  Philips's,  and  be- 
gan preaching  a  little  before  the  time  appointed.  For 
tliree  quarters  of  an  hour,  I  invited  a  few  listening  sinners 
to  Christ.  Soon  after,  Satan's  whole  army  assaulted  the 
house.  We  sat  in  a  little  ground-room,  and  ordered  all 
the  doors  to  be  thrown  open.  They  brouglil  a  hand 
engine,  and  began  to  play  into  the  house.  We  kept  our 
seats,  and  they  rushed  into  the  passage  ;  just  then,  Mr. 
Borough,  the  constable,  came,  and  seizing  the  spout  of  the 
engine,  carried  it  off.  They  swore  if  he  did  not  deliver 
it  they  would  pull  down  the  house.  At  that  time  they 
might  have  taken  us  prisoners ;  we  were  close  to  them, 
and  none  to  interpose ;  but  they  hurried  out  to  fetch  the 
larger  engine.  In  the  mean  time,  we  were  advised  to 
send  for  the  mayor ;  but  Mr.  mayor  was  gone  out  of  town, 
in  the  sight  of  the  people,  which  gave  great  encourage- 
ment to  those  who  were  already  wrought  up  to  a  proper 
pitch  by  the  curate,  and  the  gentlemen  of  the  town,  par- 
ticularly Mr.  Sutton  and  Mr.  Willy,  dissenters,  the  two 
leading  men.  Mr.  Sutton  frequently  came  out  to  the 
mob  to  keep  up  their  spirits.  He  sent  word  to  Mrs. 
Philips,  that  if  she  did  not  turn  that  fellow  out  to  the 
mob,  he  would  send  them  to  drag  him  out.  Mr.  Willy 
passed  by  again  and  again,  assuring  the  rioters  he  would 
stand  by  them,  and  secure  them  from  the  law,  do  what 
they  would. 


LIFE  OF  WE3LEY. 


121 


"  The  rioters  now  began  playing  the  larger  engine, 
which  broke  the  windows,  flooded  the  rooms,  and  spoiled 
the  goods.  Vk'e  were  withdrawn  to  a  small  upper  room 
in  the  back  part  of  tlic  house,  seeing  no  way  to  escape 
their  violence,  as  they  seemed  under  the  full  power  of  the 
old  murderer.  The  first  laid  hold  on  the  man  who  kept 
the  society -house,  dragged  him  away,  and  threw  him  into 
the  horse-pond,  and,  it  w-as  said,  broke  his  back.  We  gave 
ourselves  unto  prayer,  believing  the  Lord  would  deliver 
us ;  how,  or  when,  we  saw  not,  nor  any  possible  way  of 
escaping ;  w-e  therefore  stood  still  to  see  the  salvation  of 
God.  Every  now  and  then  some  or  other  of  our  friends 
would  venture  to  us,  but  rather  weakened  our  hands,  so 
that  we  were  forced  to  stop  our  ears  and  look  up.  Among 
the  rest,  the  Mayor's  maid  came,  and  told  us  her  mistress 
•was  in  tears  about  me,  and  begged  me  to  disguise  myself 
in  women's  clothes,  and  try  to  make  my  escape.  Her 
heart  had  been  turned  towards  us  by  the  conversion  of 
her  son,  just  on  the  brink  of  ruin.  God  laid  his  hand  on 
the  poor  prodigal,  and  instead  of  running  to  sea,  he  entered 
the  society.  The  rioters  without  continued  playing  their 
engine,  which  diverted  them  for  some  time ;  but  their 
number  and  fierceness  still  increased  ;  and  the  gentlemen 
supplied  them  with  pitchers  of  ale,  as  much  as  they  would 
drink.  They  were  now  on  the  point  of  breaking  in,  when 
Mr.  Borough  thought  of  reading  the  proclamation  ;  he  did 
so  at  the  hazard  of  his  life.  In  less  than  the  hour,  of 
above  a  thousand  wild  beasts,  none  were  left  but  the 
guard.  Our  constable  had  applied  to  Mr.  Street,  the  only 
justice  in  town,  who  would  not  act.  We  found  there  was 
no  help  in  ma.),  which  drove  us  closer  to  the  Lord ;  and 
we  prayed  with  little  intermission  the  whole  day. 

"  Our  enemies  at  their  return  made  their  main  assault 
at  the  back  door,  swearing  horridly  they  would  have  me 
if  it  cost  them  their  lives.  Many  seeming  accidents  con- 
curred to  prevent  their  breaking  in.  The  man  of  the 
house  came  home,  and  instead  of  turning  me  out,  as  they 
expected,  took  part  with  us,  and  stemmed  the  tide  for 
some  time.  Tlioy  now  got  a  notion  that  I  had  made  my 
escape,  and  ran  down  to  the  inn,  and  played  the  engine 
there.    They  forced  the  inn-keeper  to  turu  out  our  horses, 


122 


LIFE  or  WESLEY. 


which  he  immediately  sent  to  Mr.  Clark's,  which  drew 
the  rabble  and  their  engine  thither.    But  the  resolute  old 
man  charged,  and  presented  his  gun  till  they  retreated. 
Upon  their  revisiting  us,  we  stood  in  jeopardy  every  mo- 
ment.   Such  threatenings,  curses,  and  blasphemies,  I  have 
never  heard.    They  seemed  kept  out  by  a  continual  mi-  ] 
racle.    I  remembered  the  Roman  senators,  sitting  in  the  ; 
forum,  when  the  Gauls  broke  in  upon  them,  but  thought  ! 
there  was  a  fitter  posture  for  Christians,  and  told  my  com- 
panion they  should  take  us  off  our  knees.    We  were  kept  | 
from  all  hurry  and  discomposure  of  spirit  by  a  divine 
power  resting  upon  us.    We  prayed  and  conversed  as 
freely  as  if  we  had  been  in  the  midst  of  our  brethren,  and 
had  great  confidence  that  the  Lord  would  either  deliver 
us  from  the  danger,  or  in  it.    In  the  height  of  the  storm, 
just  when  we  were  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  drunken, 
enraged  multitude,  Mr.  Minton  was  so  little  disturbed  that 
he  fell  fast  asleep. 

"  They  were  now  close  to  us  on  every  side,  and  over  i 
our  heads  untiling  the  roof.  A  ruflian  cried  out,  'Here 
they  are,  behind  the  curtain.'  At  this  time  we  fully  ex- 
pected their  appearance,  and  retired  to  the  furthermost 
corner  of  the  room,  and  I  said,  '  This  is  the  crisis.'  In 
that  moment,  Jesus  rebuked  the  winds  and  the  sea,  and 
there  was  a  great  calm.  We  heard  not  a  breath  without, 
and  wondered  what  was  become  of  them.  The  silence 
lasted  for  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  before  any  one  came 
near  us;  and  we  continued  in  mutual  exhortation  and 
prayer,  looking  for  deliverance.  I  often  told  my  com- 
panions, '  Now  God  is  at  work  for  us ;  he  is  contriving 
our  escape ;  he  can  turn  these  leopards  into  lambs ;  can 
command  the  heathen  to  bring  his  children  on  their 
shoulders,  and  make  our  fiercest  enemies  the  instruments 
of  our  deliverance.'  About  three  o'clock  Mr.  Clark 
knocked  at  the  door,  and  brought  with  him  the  persecu- 
ting constable.  He  said,  '  Sir,  if  you  will  promise  never 
to  preach  here  again,  the  gentlemen  and  I  will  engage  to 
bring  you  safe  out  of  town.'  My  answer  was,  "  I  shall 
promise  no  such  thing ;  setting  aside  my  office,  I  will  not 
give  up  my  birth-riglit  as  an  Englishman,  of  visiting 
what  place  I  please  of  his  majesty's  dominions.'    '  Sir,' 


LIFE  or  WESLEV. 


128 


said  the  constable,  '  we  expect  no  such  promise,  that  you 
will  never  come  here  again ;  only  tell  me  that  it  is  not 
your  present  intention,  that  I  may  tell  the  gentlemen,  who 
will  then  secure  your  private  departure.'  I  answered,  '  I 
cannot  come  again  at  this  time,  because  I  must  return  to 
London  a  week  hence.  But,  observe,  I  make  no  pro- 
raise  of  not  preaching  here  when  the  door  is  opened ;  and 
do  not  you  say  that  I  do.' 

"  He  went  away  with  this  answer,  and  we  betook  our- 
selves to  prayer  and  thanksgiving.  We  perceived  it  was 
the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  was  marvellous  in  our  eyes.  The 
hearts  of  our  adversaries  were  turned.  Whether  pity  for 
us,  or  fear  for  themselves,  wrought  strongest,  God  know- 
eth ;  probably  the  latter,  for  the  mob  were  wrought  up  to 
such  a  pitch  of  fury,  that  their  masters  dreaded  the  conse- 
quence, and  therefore  went  about  appeasing  the  multitude, 
and  charging  them  not  to  touch  us  in  our  departure. 

"  AVhile  the  constable  was  gathering  his  posse,  we  got 
our  things  from  Mr.  Clark's,  and  prepared  to  go  forth. 
The  whole  multitude  were  without,  expecting  us,  and  sa- 
luted us  with  a  general  shout.  The  man  Mrs.  Taylor 
had  hired  to  ride  before  her  was,  as  we  now  perceived, 
one  of  the  rioters.  This  hopeful  guide  was  to  conduct 
us  out  of  the  reach  of  his  fellows.  Mr.  Minton  and  I  took 
horse  in  the  face  of  our  enemies,  who  began  clamouring 
against  us  ;  the  gentlemen  were  dispersed  among  the  mob, 
to  bridle  them.  We  rode  a  slow  pace  up  the  street,  the 
whole  multitude  pouring  along  on  both  sides,  and  attend- 
ing us  with  loud  acclamations.  Such  fierceness  and  dia- 
bolical malice  I  have  not  before  seen  in  human  faces. 
They  ran  up  to  our  horses  as  if  they  would  swallow  us, 
but  did  not  know  which  was  Wesley.  We  felt  great 
peace  and  acquiescence  in  the  honour  done  us,  while  the 
whole  town  were  spectators  of  our  march.  When  out  of 
sight  we  mended  our  pace,  and  about  seven  o'clock  came 
to  Wrexall.  The  news  of  our  danger  was  got  thither  be- 
fore us  ;  but  we  brought  the  welcome  tidings  of  our  deli- 
verance. We  joined  in  hearty  prayer  to  our  Deliverer, 
singing  the  hymn, 

'  Worship,  and  thanks,  and  blessing,'  dec. 


124 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


"  February  26.  I  preached  at  Bath,  and  we  rejoiced  like 
men  Avho  take  the  spoil.  We  continued  our  triumph  at 
Bristol,  and  reaped  the  fruit  of  our  labours  and  sufferings." 

Amidst  such  storms,  more  or  less  violent,  were  the  foun- 
dations of  that  work  laid,  the  happy  results  of  which  tens 
of  thousands  now  enjoy  in  peace.  But  even  the  piety 
which  could  hazard  such  labours  and  dangers  for  the  sake 
of  "seeking  and  saving  the  lost,"  and  the  heroic  devoted- 
ness  which  remained  constant  under  them,  has  not  been 
able  to  win  the  praise  of  prejudiced  writers  on  the  subject 
of  Methodism.  Dr.  Southey*  has  little  sympathy  with  the 
sufferings  which  a  persecuted  people  were  doomed  in 
many  places  so  callously  to  endure  ;  and  he  finds  in  the 
heroism  of  their  lenders^  a  subject  of  reproach  and  con- 
tempt rather  than  of  that  admiration  which,  had  they  oc- 
cupied some  poetical  position,  he  had  doubtless  expressed 
as  forcibly  and  nobly  as  any  man. 

Mr.  Whitefield,  he  tells  us,  had  "a  great  longing  to  be 
persecuted,"  though  the  quotation  from  one  of  his  letters, 
on  which  he  justifies  the  aspersion,  shows  nothing  more 
than  a  noble  defiance  of  suffering,  should  it  occur  in  the 
course  of  what  he  esteemed  his  duty.  Similar  sarcasms 
have  been  cast  by  infidels  upon  all  who,  in  every  age, 
have  suffered  for  the  sake  of  Christ ;  and  like  those  in 
which  Dr.  Southey  has  indulged,  they  were  intended  to 
darken  the  lustre  of  that  patient  courage  which  sprang 
out  of  love  to  the  Saviour  and  the  souls  of  men,  by  re- 
solving it  into  spiritual  pride,  and  a  desire  to  render  them- 
selves conspicuous.  Of  John  Nelson,  one  of  Mr.  Wesley's 
first  lay  coadjutors,  who  endured  no  ordinary  share  of  op- 
pression and  suffering,  as  unprovoked  and  unmerited  as 
the  most  modest  and  humble  demeanour  on  his  part  cotild 
render  it,  Dr.  Southey  truly  says,  that  "he  had  as  high  a 
spirit,  and  as  brave  a  heart  as  ever  Englishman  was  blessed 
with  ;"  yet  even  the  narration  of  his  wrongs,  so  scandalous 
to  the  magistracy  of  the  day,  and  which  were  sustained  by 
him  in  the  full  spirit  of  Christian  constancy,  is  not  dis- 
missed without  a  sneer  at  this  honest  and  suffering  man 
himself. — "  To  prison  therefore  Nelson  was  taken,  to  his 
heart's  content.^''  And  so  because  he  chose  a  prison  ra- 
*  Life  of  Wesley. 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


125 


Iher  than  violate  his  conscience,  and  endured  imprison- 
ments and  other  injuries,  with  the  unbending  feeling  of  a 
high  and  noble  mind,  corrected  and  controlled  by  "the 
meekness  and  gentleness  of  Christ,  imprisonment  was  his 
desire,  and  the  distinction  which  he  is  supposed  to  have 
derived  from  it,  his  motive !  Before  criticism  so  flippant 
and  callous,  no  character,  however  sacred  and  revered, 
could  stand.  It  might  be  applied  with  equal  success  to  the 
persecutions  of  the  apostles,  and  the  first  Christians  them- 
selves ;  to  the  confessors  in  the  reign  of  Mary ;  and  to  the 
wliole  "  noble  army  of  martyrs." 

The  real  danger  to  which  these  excellent  men  were 
exposed  is,  however,  concealed  by  Dr.  Southey.  White- 
field's  fears,  or  rather  hopes  of  persecution,  he  says, 
"  were  suited  to  the  daj^s  of  Queen  Mary,  Bishop  Gardiner, 
and  Bishop  Bonner ;  they  were  ridiculous  or  disgusting 
in  the  time  of  George  the  Second,  Archbishop  Potter, 
and  Bishop  Gibson."  This  is  said  because  Mr.  Whitefield 
thought  that  he  migh  t  probably  be  called  to  "  resist  unto 
blood;"  and  our  author  would  have  it  supposed,  that  all 
this  was  "  safe  boasting,"  in  the  reign  of  George  the 
Second,  and  whilst  the  Engli.sh  church  had  its  Arch- 
bishop Potter  and  its  Bishop  Gibson.  But  not  even  in  the 
early  part  of  the  reign  of  George  the  Third,  and  with 
other  bishops  in  the  church  as  excellent  as  Potter  and 
Gibson,  was  the  anticipation  groundless^  The  real  danger 
was  in  fact  so  great  from  the  brutality  of  the  populace, 
the  ignorance  and  supineness  of  the  magistrates,  and  the 
mob-exciting  activity  of  the  clergy,  one  of  whom  was 
usually  the  instigator  of  every  tumult,  that  every  man  who 
went  forth  on  the  errand  of  mercy  in  that  day  took  his  life 
in  his  hand,  and  needed  the  spirit  of  a  martyr,  though  he 
was  not  in  danger  of  suffering  a  martyr's  death  by  regular 
civil  or  ecclesiastical  process.  Dr.  Southey  has  himself 
in  part  furnished  the  confutation  of  his  own  suggestion, 
that  little  danger  was  to  be  apprehended,  by  the  brief 
statements  he  has  given  of  the  hair-breadth  escapes 
of  the  Wesleys,  and  of  the  sufferings  of  John  Nelson. 
But  a  volume  might  be  filled  with  accounts  of  outrages 
committed  from  that  day  to  our  own,  in  different  places, 
(for  they  now  occasionally  occur  in  obscure  and  uncn- 
12 


126 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


lightened  parts  of  the  country,)  upon  the  persons  of  Me- 
thodist preachers,  for  the  sole  fault  of  visiting  neglected 
places,  and  preaching  the  gospel  of  salvation  to  those  who, 
if  Christianity  be  true,  are  in  a  state  of  spiritual  darkness 
and  danger.  To  be  pelted  with  stones,  dragged  through 
ponds,  beaten  with  bludgeons,  rolled  in  mud,  and  to  suffer 
other  modes  of  ill  treatment,  was  the  anticipation  of  all 
the  first  preachers  when  they  entered  upon  their  work ; 
and  this  was  also  the  lot  of  many  of  their  hearers.  Some 
lives  were  lost,  and  many  shortened ;  the  most  singular 
escapes  are  on  record ;  and  if  the  tragedy  was  not  deeper, 
that  was  owing  at  length  to  the  explicit  declarations  of 
George  III.  on  the  subject  of  tolcratioUj-and  the  upright 
conduct  of  the  judges  in  their  circ^uits,  and  in  the  higher 
courts,  when  an  appeal  was  made  to  the  laws  in  some  of 
the  most  atrocious  cases.  Assuredly,  the  country  magis- 
trates in  general,  and  the  clergy,  were  entitled  to  little 
share  of  the  praise.  Much  of  lliis  is  acknowledged  by 
Dr.  Southey  ;  but  he  attempts  to  throw  a  part  of  the  blame 
upon  the  Wesleys  tliemselves.  "  Their  doctrines  of  per- 
fection and  assurance"  were,  he  thinks,  among  the  causes 
of  their  persecution  ;  and  "  their  zeal  was  not  tempered 
with  dis(;retion."  With  discretion,  in  his  view  of  it,  their 
zeal  was  not  tempered.  Such  discretion  would  neither 
have  put  them  in  the  way  of  persecution,  nor  btought  it 
upon  them  ;  it  would  have  disturbed  no  sinner  and  saved 
no  soul ;  but  they  were  not  indiscreet  in  seeking  danger, 
and  provoking  language  never  escaped  lips  in  wliich  the 
law  of  meekness  always  triumphed  :  and  as  for  doctrines, 
the  mobs  and  their  exciters  were  then  just  as  discrimina- 
ting as  mobs  have  ever  been  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world.  They  were  usually  stirred  up  by  the  clergy,  and 
other  persons  of  influence  in  tlie  neighbourhood,  Avho 
were  almost  as  ignorant  as  the  rufiians  they  employed  to 
assault  the  preachers  and  their  peaceable  congregations. 
The  description  of  the  mob  at  Ephesus,  in  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,  suited  them  as  well  as  if  they  had  been  the 
original  and  not  tlie  copy, — "  Some  cried  one  thing,  and 
some  another;  for  the  assembly  was  confused  :  and  the 
most  part  knew  not  wherefore  they  had  come  together." 
They  generally,  however,  agreed  to   pull  down  the 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


127 


preacher,  and  to  abuse  both  him  and  his  hearers,  men, 
women,  and  even  children  ;  and  that  because  "  they  trou- 
bled them  about  religion." 

That  immediate  resort  to  God  in  prayer,  which  Avas 
practised,  in  cases  of  "  peril  and  danger,"  by  these  perse- 
cuted ministers ;  and  their  ascription  of  deliverances  to 
the  divine  interposition,  as  in  the  instances  above  given, 
have  also  been  subjects  of  either  grave  rebuke,  or  semi- 
infidel  ridicule.  It  is  not  necessary  to  contend  that  every 
particular  instance  which,  in  the  journals  of  the  Wesleys, 
is  referred  to  an  immediate  answer  to  prayer,  was  so  in 
reality;  because  a  few  cases  may  reasonably  appear 
doubtful.  These,  however,  only  prove  that  they  culti- 
vated the  habit  of  regarding  God  in  all  things,  and 
of  gratefully  acknowledging  his  hand  in  all  the  events 
of  life  ;  and  if  there  was  at  any  time  any  over  applica- 
tion of  these  excellent  views  and  feelings,  yet  in  minds 
so  sober  as  to  make  the  word  of  God,  diligently  studied, 
their  only  guide  in  all  matters  of  practice,  no  injurious 
result  could  follow.  But  we  must  reject  the  Bible 
altogether,  if  we  shut  out  a  particular  providence ;  and 
we  reduce  prayer  to  a  real  absurdity,  unless  we  allow 
that  its  very  ground  and  reason  is  special  interposition. 
Why,  for  instance,  should  a  collect  teach  us  to  pray  th.'t 
"  this  day  we  may  fall  into  no  sin,  neither  run  into  any 
kind  of  danger,"  if  we  do  not  thereby  place  ourselves 
under  a  special  protection  of  God,  and  if  our  interests 
must  necessarily  be  dragged  after  the  wheel  of  some 
general  system  of  government?  Divine  interposition  is 
indeed  ordinarily  invisible,  and  can  be  known  only  from 
general  results ;  it  impresses  no  mark  of  interruption  or 
of  quickened  activity  upon  the  general  course  of  things 
with  which  we  may  be  surrounded ;  it  works  often  un- 
consciously through  our  own  faculties,  and  through  the 
wills  and  purposes  of  others,  as  unconscious  of  it  as  we 
ourselves ;  yet  even  in  this  case,  where  the  indevout  see 
man  only,  the  better  instructed  acknowledge  God  who 
"  worketh  all  in  all."  But  to  say  that  the  hand  of  God  is 
never  specially  marked  in  its  operations ;  that  his  ser- 
vants who  are  raised  up  by  him  for  important  services 
shall  never  receive  proofs  of  his  particular  care ;  that  an 


128 


UFE  OF  WESLEY. 


entire  trust  in  him  in  the  most  critical  circumstances  shall 
have  no  visible  honour  put  upon  it ;  that  wlicn  we  are 
"  in  all  things"  commanded  to  make  our  requests  known 
unto  God,  the  prayers  which,  in  obedience  to  that  com- 
mand, we  offer  to  him  in  the  time  of  trouble  sliall  never 
have  a  special  answer,  is  to  maintain  notions  wholly  sub- 
versive of  piety,  and  which  cannot  be  held  without  reject- 
ing, or  reducing  to  unmeaningness,  many  of  the  most  ex- 
plicit and  important  declarations  of  holy  Scripture.  These 
were  not  the  views  entertained  by  the  Wesleys;  and  in 
their  higher  belief  they  coincided  with  good  men  in  all 
ages.  They  felt  that  they  were  about  their  master's  busi- 
ness, and  they  trusted  in  their  master's  care,  so  long  as  it 
might  be  for  his  glory  that  they  should  be  permitted  to 
live.  Nor  for  that  were  they  anxious ;  desiring  only,  that 
whilst  they  lived  they  should  "  live  unto  the  Lord,"  and 
that  when  they  died  "  they  should  die  to  him and  that 
so  "  Christ  might  be  magnified  in  their  body  whether  by 
life,  or  by  death." 

The  labours  of  Mr.  John  Wesley,  during  the  same 
period  of  two  years,  may  be  abridged  from  his  Journal. 
In  the  first  month  of  the  year  1745,  we  find  him  at  Lon- 
don, and  at  Bristol  and  its  neighbourhood.  In  February, 
lie  made  a  journey,  in  the  stormy  and  wintry  weather  of 
that  season,  to  Newcastle,  preaching  at  various  interme- 
diate places.  The  following  extract  shows  the  cheerful 
and  buoyant  spirit  with  which  he  encountered  these  dif- 
ficulties : — 

"  Many  a  rough  journey  have  I  had  before ;  but  one 
like  this  I  never  had,  between  wind  and  hail,  and  rain 
and  ice,  and  snow,  and  driving  sleet,  and  piercing  cold. 
But  it  is  past.  Those  days  will  return  no  more,  and  are 
therefore  as  though  they  had  never  been. 

"'Pain,  disappointment,  sickness,  strife, 
Whate'er  molests  or  troubles  life; 
However  grievous  in  its  stay, 
It  shakes  the  tenement  of  clay, 
When  past,  as  nothing  we  esteem ; 
And  pain,  like  pleasure,  is  a  dream.'"* 


Journal. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY 


129 


As  a  specimen  of  that  cool  and  self-possessed  manner 
which  gave  him  so  great  a  power  over  rude  minds,  we 
may  take  the  following  anecdote.  A  man  at  Newcastle 
had  signalized  himself  by  personal  insults  offered  to  him 
in  the  streets;  and,  upon  inquiry,  he  found  him  an  old 
oflFender  in  persecuting  the  members  of  the  society  by 
abusing  and  throwing  stones  at  them.  Upon  this  he  sent 
him  the  following  note  : — 
"  Robert  Yocng, 

"  I  expect  to  see  you,  between  this  and  Friday,  and 
to  hear  from  you,  that  you  are  sensible  of  your  fault. 
Otherwise,  in  pity  to  your  soul,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  in- 
form the  magistrates  of  your  assaulting  me  yesterday  in 
the  street. 

•'  I  am  your  real  friend, 

"John  V/esley. 
"  Within  two  or  three  hours,  Robert  Young  came,  and 
promised  a  quite  different  behaviour.    So  did  this  gentle 
reproof,  if  not  save  a  soul  from  death,  yet  prevent  a  mul- 
titude of  sins."* 

Whilst  at  Newcastle,  he  drew  up  the  following  case : — 

"  Newcastle-t'pon-Ti/ne,  March  11,  1745-6. 

"  I  have  been  drawing  up  this  morning  a  short  state  of  the 
case  between  the  clergy  and  us:  I  leave  you  to  make  any 
such  use  of  it  as  you  believe  will  be  to  the  glory  of  God. 

"  1.  About  seven  years  since  we  began  preaching  in- 
ward, present  salvation,  as  attainable  by  faiih  alone. 

"  2.  For  preaching  this  doctrine  we  were  forbidden  to 
preach  in  the  churches. 

"  3.  We  then  preached  in  private  houses,  as  occasion 
offered  ;  and  when  the  houses  could  not  contain  the  peo- 
ple, in  the  open  air. 

"  4.  For  this  many  of  the  clergy  preached  or  printed 
against  us,  as  both  heretics  and  schismatics. 

"  5.  Persons  who  were  convinced  of  sin,  begged  us  to 
advise  them  more  particularly,  how  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come.  We  replied,  if  they  would  all  come  at  one  time 
(for  they  were  numerous)  we  would  endeavour  it. 

"  6.  For  this  we  were  represented,  both  from  the  pulpit 
♦  Journal. 
12* 


130 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


and  the  press,  (we  have  heard  it  with  our  ears,  and  seen 

it  with  our  eyes,)  as  introducing  popery,  raising  sedition, 
practising  both  against  church  and  state:  and  all  man- 
ner of  evil  was  publicly  said  both  of  us  and  those  who 
were  accustomed  to  meet  with  us. 

"  7.  Finding  some  truth  herein,  viz.,  that  some  of  those 
who  so  met  together,  walked  disorderly,  we  immediately 
desired  them  not  to  come  to  us  any  more. 

"  8.  And  the  more  steady  were  desired  to  overlook  the  rest, 
that  we  might  know  if  they  walked  according  to  the  Gospel. 

"9.  But  now  several  of  the  bishops  began  to  speak 
against  us,  either  in  conversation  or  in  public. 

"  10.  On  this  encouragement  several  of  the  clergy 
stirred  up  the  people  to  treat  us  as  outlaws  or  mad  dogs. 

"11.  The  people  did  so,  both  in  Staffordshire,  Corn- 
wall, and  many  other  places. 

"  12.  And  they  do  so  still,  wherever  they  are  not  re- 
strained by  their  fear  of  the  secular  magistrate. 

"  Thus  the  case  stands  at  present.  Now  what  can  we 
do,  or  what  can  you  our  brethren  do  toward  healing  this 
breach?  which  is  highly  desirable;  that  we  may  with- 
stand, with  joint  force,  the  still  increasing  flood  of  popery, 
deism,  and  immorality. 

"  Desire  of  us  any  thing  we  can  do  with  a  safe  con- 
science, and  we  will  do  it  immediately.  Will  you  meet 
us  here  ?  Will  you  do  what  we  desire  of  you,  so  far  as 
you  can  Avith  a  safe  conscience? 

"  Let  us  come  to  particulars.  Do  you  desire  us,  1.  To  • 
preach  another,  or  to  desist  from  preaching  this  doctrine? 

"  We  think  you  do  not  desire  it,  as  knowing  we  cannot 
do  this  with  a  safe  conscience. 

Do  you  desire  us,  2.  To  desist  from  preaching  in  pri- 
vate houses,  or  in  the  open  air?  As  things  are  now  cir- 
cumstanced, this  would  be  the  same  as  desiring  us  not  to 
preach  at  all. 

"  Do  you  desire  us,  3.  To  desist  from  advising  those 
who  now  meet  together  for  that  purpose  ?  or,  in  other 
words,  to  dissolve  our  societies  ? 

"We  cannot  do  this  with  a  safe  conscience;  for  we 
apprehend  many  souls  would  be  lost  thereby,  and  that 
God  would  require  their  blood  at  our  hands. 


LIFE  OF  WE3LEY. 


131 


"  Do  you  desire  us,  4.  To  advise  them  only  one  by 
one? 

"  This  is  impossible,  because  of  their  number. 

"  Do  you  desire  us,  5.  To  suffer  those  who  walk  disor- 
derly still  to  mix  with  the  rest  ? 

"  Neither  can  we  do  this  with  a  safe  conscience ;  be- 
cause evil  communications  corrupt  good  manners. 

"  Do  you  desire  us,  6,  To  discharge  those  leaders  of 
bands  or  classes  (as  we  term  them,)  who  overlook  the 
rest? 

"  This  is,  in  effect,  to  suffer  the  disorderly  walkers  still 
to  mix  %vith  the  rest,  which  we  dare  not  do. 

"  Do  j^ou  desire  us,  lastly,  to  behave  with  reverence  to- 
ward those  who  are  overseers  of  the  church  of  God  ?  and 
with  tenderness,  both  to  the  character  and  persons  of  our 
brethren,  the  inferior  clergy  ? 

"  By  the  grace  of  God,  we  can  and  will  do  this.  Yea, 
our  conscience  beareth  us  witness,  that  we  have  already 
laboured  so  to  do ;  and  that,  at  all  times  and  in  all  places. 

"  If  you  ask  what  we  desire  of  you  to  do,  we  answer, 
1.  We  do  not  desire  any  of  you  to  let  us  preach  in  your 
churches,  either  if  you  believe  us  to  preach  false  doctrine, 
or  if  you  have  upon  any  other  ground,  the  least  scruple 
concerning  it.  But  M  e  desire  that  any  who  believes  us  to 
preach  true  doctrine,  and  has  no  scruple  at  all  in  this  mat- 
ter, may  not  be  either  publicly  or  privately  discouraged 
from  inviting  us  to  preach  in  his  church. 

"  2.  We  do  not  desire  that  any  one  who  thinks  that  we 
are  heretics  or  schismatics,  and  that  it  is  his  duty  to  preach 
or  print  against  us  as  such,  should  refrain  therefrom,  so 
long  as  he  thinks  it  his  duty  (although  in  this  case,  the 
breach  can  never  be  healed.) 

"  But  we  desire,  that  none  will  pass  such  a  sentence, 
until  he  has  calmly  considered  both  side>  of  the  question ; 
that  he  would  not  condemn  us  unheard,  but  first  read  what 
we  have  written,  and  pray  earnestly  that  God  may  direct 
him  in  the  right  way. 

"  3.  We  do  not  desire  any  favour,  if  either  popery, 
sedition,  or  immorality  be  proved  against  us. 

"  But  we  desire,  you  will  not  credit  without  proof,  any 
of  those  senseless  tales  that  pass  current  with  the  vulgar ; 


132 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


that,  if  you  do  not  credit  them  yourselves,  you  will  not 
relate  them  to  others ;  (which  we  have  known  done ;)  yea, 
that  you  will  confute  them,  so  far  as  ye  have  opportu- 
nity, and  discountenance  those  who  still  retail  them 
abroad. 

"  4.  We  do  not  desire  any  preferment,  favour,  or  re- 
commendation from  those  that  are  in  authority,  either  in 
church  or  state.    But  we  desire, 

"  1.  That  if  any  thing  material  be  laid  to  our  charge, 
we  may  be  permitted  to  answer  for  ourselves.  2.  That 
you  would  hinder  your  dependants  from  stirring  up  the 
rabble  against  us,  who  are  certainly  not  the  proper  judges 
of  these  matters ;  and,  3.  That  you  would  effectually  sup- 
press, and  thoroughly  discountenance,  all  riots  and  popu- 
lar insurrections,  which  evidently  strike  at  tlie  foundation 
of  all  government,  whether  of  church  or  state. 

"  Now  these  things  you  certainly  can  do,  and  that  with 
a  safe  conscience  ;  therefore,  until  these  things  are  done, 
the  continuance  of  the  breach  is  chargeable  on  you  and 
you  only."* 

It  is  evident  from  this  paper,  that  Mr.  Wesley's  diffi- 
culties, arising  from  his  having  raised  up  a  distinct 
people,  within  the  national  church,  pressed  upon  him. 
He  desired  imion  and  co-operation  wiUi  the  clergy,  but 
his  hope  was  disappointed  ;  and  perhaps  it  was  much 
more  than  he  could  reasonably  indulge.  It  shows,  how- 
ever, his  own  sincerity,  and  that  he  was  not  only  led 
into  his  course  of  irregularity,  but  impelled  forward  in  it, 
by  circumstances  which  his  zeal  and  piety  had  created, 
and  which  all  his  prejudices  in  favour  of  the  church  could 
not  control. 

After  spending  some  time  in  Newcastle  and  the  neigh- 
bouring places,  he  visited  Lincolnshire,  Yorkshire,  Lan- 
cashire, and  Cheshire.  On  his  return  southward,  he  call- 
ed at  Wednesbury,  long  the  scene  of  riot,  and  preached 
in  peace.  At  Birmingham  he  had  to  abide  the  pelting  of 
stones  and  dirt ;  and,  on  his  return  to  London,  he  found 
some  of  the  society  inclined  to  Quakerism :  but  by  read- 
hig  "  Barclay's  Apology"  over  with  them,  and  commenting 
upon  it,  they  were  recovered.  Antinomianism,  both  of 
♦Works,  vol.  ii.  pp.  373—275. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


133 


mystic  and  Calvinistic  origin,  also  gave  him  trouble;  but 
his  testimony  against  it  was  unsparing.  To  erroneous 
opinions,  when  innocent,  no  man  was  more  tender ;  but 
when  they  infected  the  conduct,  they  met  from  him  the 
sternest  resistance.  "  I  would  wish  all  to  observe,  that 
the  points  in  question  between  us  and  either  the  German 
or  Enghsh  Aniinomians,  are  not  points  of  opinion,  but  of 
practice.  "We  break  with  no  man  for  his  opinion.  We 
think  and  let  tliink."* 

In  the  summer  he  proceeded  to  Cornwall,  where  Dr. 
Borlase,  the  historian  of  that  county,  in  the  plenitude  of 
his  magisterial  authority,  still  carried  on  a  systematic 
persecution  against  the  Methodists.  He  had  made  out 
an  order  for  Mr.  Maxfield,  who  had  been  preaching  in 
various  places,  to  be  sent  on  board  a  man-of-war,  but  the 
captain  would  ;iot  take  him.  A  pious  and  peaceable 
miner,  with  a  wife  and  seven  children,  was  also  appre- 
hended under  the  Doctor's  warrant,  because  he  had  said 
'•  that  he  knew  his  sins  forgiven  ;"  and  this  zealous  anti- 
heretic  finally  made  out  a  warrant  against  Mr.  Wesley 
himself,  but  could  find  no  one  to  execute  it.  From  Corn- 
wall, where  his  ministry  had  been  attended  with  great 
effect,  Mr.  Wesley  proceeded  to  Wales,  and  thence  to 
Bristol. 

Count  Zinzendorf  about  this  time  directed  the  publica- 
tion of  an  advertisement,  declaring  that  he  and  his  peo- 
ple had  no  connexion  with  John  and  Charles  W'esley ; 
and  concluded  with  a  prophecy,  that  they  would  "  soon 
run  their  heads  against  a  wall.''  On  this  Mr.  Wesley  con- 
tents himself  with  coolly  remarking,  "We  will  not,  if  we 
can  help  it." 

He  now  proceeded  northward ;  and  at  Northampton 
called  on  Dr.  Doddridge,  from  whom  he  had  previously 
n  (  t'ived  several  letters,  breathing  the  most  catholic  spirit. 
At  Leeds  the  mob  pelted  him  and  the  congregation  with 
Out  and  stones  ;  and  the  next  evening,  being  "  in  higher 
excitement, they  were  ready,"  says  he,  "to  knock  out  our 
hrains  for  joy  that  the  duke  of  Tuscany  was  emperor." 
On  his  arrival  at  Newcastle,  tlie  town  was  in  the  utmost 
consternation,  news  having  arrived  that  the  Pretender  had 
♦  Journal. 


134 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


4 


entered  Edinburgh.  By  the  most  earnest  preaching,  he 
endeavoured  ,to  turn  this  season  of  alarm  to  the  spiritual 
profit  of  the  people,  and  the  large  congregations  whom 
he  addressed  in  the  streets  heard  Avith  solfmn  attention. 
He  then  visited  Epworth,  but  speedily  returned  to  New- 
castle, judging  probably,  that  the  place  of  anxiety  and 
danger  was  his  post  of  duty.  Here  he  made  an  offer  to 
the  general,  through  one  of  the  aldermen,  to  preach  to 
the  troops  encamped  near  the  town,  whose  dissolute  lan- 
guage and  manners  greatly  affected  him  ;  but  he  seems  to 
have  received  no  favourable  answer:  so,  after  preaching  a 
few  times  near  the  camp,  he  returned  southwards,  endea- 
vouring, at  Leeds,  Birmingham,  and  other  places,  to  turn 
the  public  agitation,  arising  from  the  apprehension  of  ci- 
vil war,  to  the  best  account,  by  enforcing  "  repentance 
towards  God,  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

Mr.  Wesley  had  occasionally  employed  himself  in  wri- 
ing  and  getting  printed  small  religious  tracts,  many  thou- 
sands of  which  were  distributed.  This  was  revived  with 
vigour  on  his  return  to  London  this  year ;  and  he  thus, 
by  his  example,  was  probably  the  first  to  appl}^,  on  any 
large  scale,  this  important  means  of  usefulness  to  the  re- 
formation of  the  people.  In  the  form  of  those  excellent 
institutions  called  "  Tract  Societies,"  the  same  plan  has 
now  long  been  carried  on  systematically,  to  the  great  spi- 
ritual advantage  of  many  thousands.  At  this  period  he 
observes,  adverting  to  the  numerous  small  tracts  he  had 
written  and  distributed,  "  It  pleased  God  hereby  to  pro- 
voke others  to  jealousy ;  insomuch  that  the  lord  mayor 
had  ordered  a  large  quantity  of  papers,  dissuading  from 
cursing  and  swearing,  to  be  printed,  and  distributed  to  the 
train-bands.  And  this  day,  an  '  Earnest  Exhortation  to 
Serious  Repentance'  was  given  at  every  church-door  in  or 
near  London,  to  every  person  who  came  out,  and  one  left 
at  the  house  of  every  householder  who  was  absent  from 
church.    I  doubt  not  but  God  gave  a  blessing  therewith."* 

*  Journal. — Previous  to  this,  we  find  him  a  tract-writer  and  dis- 
tributor; for  he  observes  in  the  year  1742,  "  I  set  out  for  Brentford 
with  Robert  Swindels.  The  next  day  we  reached  Marlborough. 
When  one  in  the  room  beneath  us  was  swearing  desperately,  Mr. 
Swindels  stepped  down,  and  put  into  his  hand  the  paper  entitled 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


135 


In  the  early  part  of  1746,  we  find  the  following  entry 
in  Mr.  Wesley's  journal : — "  I  set  out  for  Bristol.  On  the 
road  I  read  over  Lord  King's  account  of  the  primitive 
church.  In  s^ite  of  the  vehement  prejudice  of  my  edu- 
cation, I  was  ready  to  believe  tliat  tliis  was  a  fair  and  im- 
]iai  tial  draught.  But  if  so,  it  would  follow,  that  bishops 
Mild  presbyters  are  (essentially)  of  one  order;  and  that 
originally  every  Christian  congregation  was  a  church  in- 
dejicndent  on  all  others  !" 

The  truth  is,  that  Lord  King  came  in  only  to  confirm 
him  in  views  which  lie  had  for  some  time  begun  to  enter- 
tain ;  and  they  were  such  as  show,  that  though  he  was  a 
church-of-England  man  as  to  affection,  which  was  strong 
and  sincere  as  far  as  its  doctrines  and  its  liturgy  WTre 
concerned,  and  though  he  regarded  it  with  great  deference 
1-  a  legal  institution,  yet  in  respect  of  its  ecclesiastical 
//  he  was  even  then  very  free  in  his  opinions.    At  the 
lid  conference  in  174.5,  it  was  asked,  "Is  Episcopal, 
•  lytcrian,  or  Independent  church  government,  most 
t'iible  to  reason  ?"    The  answer  is  as  follows  : — 
The  plain  origin  of  churcli-government  seems  to  be 
this  : — Christ  sends  forth  a  person  to  preach  the  gospel: 
some  of  those  who  hear  him,  repent  and  believe  in  Christ : 
they  then  desire  him  to  watch  over  them,  to  build  them 
up  in  faith,  and  to  guide  their  souls  into  paths  of  right- 
eousness.   Here  then  is  an  independent  congregation, 
subject  to  no  pastor,  but  their  own  ;  neither  liable  to  be 
controlled,  in  things  spiritual,  by  any  other  man,  or  body 
of  men  whatsoever.    But  soon  after,  some  from  other 

Swear  not  at  all.  He  thanked  him,  and  promised  to  swear  no  more. 
And  he  did  not  while  he  was  in  the  house."  iVIr.  Wesley  had  al- 
ready written  tracts  entitled,  "  A  Word  to  a  Smuggler,"  "  A  Word 
to  a  Sabbath-hroakcr,"  "  A  Word  to  a  Swearer,"  "  A  Word  to  a 
Drunkard,"  "  A  Word  to  a  Street-walker,"  "  A  Word  to  a  Male- 
factor," and  several  others.  He  published  these  tliat  liis  preachers 
and  people  might  have  them  to  give  away  to  those  who  were  guilty  of 
these  crimes,  or  in  danger  of  falling  into  them.  He  considered  .this  as 
one  great  means  of  spreading  the  knowledge  of  God.  He  also' early 
gave  his  influence  to  the  Sunday-school  system.  Mr.  Raikes  began 
his  Sunday-school  in  Gloucester  in  1784 ;  and  in  January,  1785,  Mr. 
Wesley  pubhshed  an  account  of  it  in  his  magazine,  and  exhorted  his 
societies  to  inutatc  that  laudable  example. 


136 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


parts,  who  were  occasionally  present,  whilst  he  was  speak- 
ing in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  beseech  him  to  come  over 
and  help  them  also.  He  complies,  yet  not  till  he  confers 
with  the  wisest  and  holiest  of  his  congregation  ;  and  with 
their  consent  appoints  one  who  has  gifts  and  grace  to 
watch  over  his  flock  in  his  absence.  If  it  please  God  to 
raise  another  flock,  in  the  new  place,  before  he  leaves 
them,  he  does  the  same  thing,  appointing  one  whom  God 
hath  fitted  for  the  work  to  watch  over  these  souls  also. 
In  like  manner,  in  every  place  where  it  pleases  God  to 
gather  a  little  flock  by  his  word,  he  apjjoints  one  in  his 
absence,  to  take  the  oversight  of  the  i-est,  to  assist  them 
as  of  the  ability  which  God  giveth. 

"  These  are  deacons,  or  servants  of  the  church,  and 
they  look  upon  their  first  pastor,  as  the  common  father  of 
all  these  congregations,  and  regard  him  in  the  same  light, 
and  esteem  him  still  as  the  shepherd  of  their  souls.  These 
congregations  are  not  strictly  independent,  as  tljey  depend 
upon  one  pastor,  though  not  upon  each  other. 

"  As  these  congregations  increase,  and  the  deacons  grow  • 
in  years  and  grace,  they  need  other  subordinate  deacons, 
or  helpers,  in  respect  of  whom  (hey  may  be  called  pres 
byters,  or  elders,  as  their  father  in  the  Lord  may  be  called 
the  bishop  or  overseer  of  tlicm  all." 

This  passage  is  important  as  it  shows  that  from  the  first 
he  regarded  his  preachers,  wlicn  called  out  and  devoted 
to  the  work,  as,  in  respect  of  primitive  antiquity  and  the 
universal  church,  parallel  to  deacons  and  presbyters.  He 
also  then  thought  himself  a  scriptural  bishop.  Lord 
King's  researches  into  antiquity  served  to  confirm  these 
sentiments,  and  corrected  his  former  notion  as  to  a  dis- 
tinction of  orders. 

It  should  here  be  stated,  that  at  these  early  conferences 
one  sitting  appears  to  liave  been  devoted  to  conversation 
on  matters  of  discipline,  in  which  the  propriety  of  Mr. 
Wesley's  proceedings  in  former  societies,  calling  out 
preachers,  and  originating  a  distinct  religious  community, 
governed  by  its  own  laws,  were  considered  ;  and  this  ne- 
cessarily led  to  the  examination  of  general  questions  of 
church-government  and  order.  This  will  explain  the  rea- 
son why  in  the  conferences  which  Mr.  Wesley,  his  brother, 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


137 


two  or  three  clergymen,  and  a  few  preachers,  held  in  the 
years  1744,  1745,  174C,  and  1747,  sucli  subjects  were  dis- 
cussed as  are  contained  in  the  above  extract  and  in  those 
which  follow.  On  tliese,  as  on  all  others,  they  set  out 
with  the  principle  of  examining  every  thing  "  to  the  foun- 
dation." 

"  Q.  Can  he  be  a  spiritual  governor  of  the  church  who 
is  not  a  believer,  not  a  member  of  it  ? 

"  A.  It  seems  not :  though  he  may  be  a  governor  in 
outward  things,  by  a  power  derived  from  the  king. 

"  Q.  What  are  properly  the  laws  of  the  church  of 
England  ? 

"  A.  The  rubrics  :  and  to  these  we  submit,  as  the  ordi- 
nance of  men,  for  the  Lord's  sake. 

"  Q.  But  is  not  the  will  of  our  governors  a  law  1 

"  A.  No  ;  not  of  any  governor,  temporal  or  spiritual ; 
therefore  if  any  bishop  wills  that  1  should  not  preach  the 
gospel,  his  will  is  no  law  to  me. 

"  Q.  But  if  he  produce  a  law  against  your  preaching  ? 

"  A.  I  am  to  obey  God  rather  than  man." 


"  Q.  Is  mutual  consent  absolutely  necessary  between 
the  pastor  and  his  flock  ? 

"  A.  No  question.  I  cannot  guide  any  soul,  unless  he 
consent  to  be  guided  by  me  ;  neither  can  any  soul  force 
me  to  guide  him,  if  I  consent  not. 

"  Q.  Does  the  ceasing  of  this  consent  on  either  side 
dissolve  this  relation  ? 

"  A.  It  must  in  the  very  nature  of  things.  If  a  man 
no  longer  consent  to  be  guided  by  me,  I  am  no  longer  his 
guide  ;  I  am  free.  If  one  will  not  guide  me  any  longer, 
I  am  free  to  seek  one  who  will." 


"  Q.  Does  a  church  in  the  New  Testament  always  mean 
a  single  congregation  ? 

"  A.  We  believe  it  does  ;  we  do  not  recollect  any  in- 
stance to  the  contrary. 

13 


138 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


"  Q.  What  instance  or  ground  is  there  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament for  a  national  church. 

"  A.  We  know  none  at  all ;  we  apprehend  it  to  be  a 
merely  political  institution. 

"  Q.  Are  the  three  orders  of  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons 
plainly  described  in  the  New  Testament? 

"  A.  We  think  they  are,  and  believe  they  generally  ob- 
tained in  the  church  of  the  apostolic  age. 

"  Q.  But  are  you  assured  that  God  designed  the 
same  plan  should  obtain  in  all  churches,  throughout  all 
ages  ? 

"  A.  We  are  not  assured  of  it,  because  we  do  not  know 
it  is  asserted  in  holy  writ. 

"  Q.  If  the  plan  were  essential  to  a  Christian  church, 
what  must  become  of  all  foreign  reformed  clii^vhes? 

"  A.  It  would  follow  they  are  no  part  of  the  church  of 
Christ:  a  consequence  full  of  shocking  absurdity. 

"  Q.  In  wluit  age  was  the  divine  right  of  episcopacy 
first  asserted  in  England  ? 

"  A.  About  the  middle  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign :  till 
then  all  the  bishops  and  clergy  in  England  continually 
allowed  and  joined  in  the  ministrations  of  those  who  were 
not  episcopally  ordained.* 

"  Q.  Must  there  not  be  numberless  accidental  variations 
in  the  government  of  various  churches  ? 

"  A.  There  must,  in  the  nature  of  things.  As  God  vari- 
ously dispenses  his  gifts  of  nature,  providence,  and  grace, 
both  the  olRces  themselves,  and  the  officers  in  each,  ought 
to  be  varied  from  time  to  time. 

"  Q.  Why  is  it  that  there  is  no  determinate  plan  of 
church-government  appointed  in  scripture  ? 

"  A.  Without  doubt  because  the  wisdom  of  God  had  a 
regard  to  that  necessary  variety. 

"  Q.  Was  there  any  tliought  of  uniformity  in  the  govern- 
ment of  all  churches,  until  the  time  of  Constantine? 

"  A.  It  is  certain  there  was  not,  nor  would  there  have 
been  then,  had  men  consulted  the  word  of  God  only." 

Nothing  therefore  can  be  more  clear,  than  that  Mr. 
Wesley  laid  the  ground-work  of  his  future  proceedings, 
after  much  deliberation,  at  this  early  stage  of  his  progress. 
He  felt  that  a  case  of  necessity  had  arisen,  calling  upon 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


139 


him  to  provide  a  ministry  and  a  government  for  the  peo- 
ple who  had  been  raised  up  ;  a  necessity  which  rested  upon 
the  obvious  alternative,  that  they  must  either  be  furnished 
witli  pastors  of  their  own,  or  be  left  without  sufficient  aid 
in  the  affairs  of  their  souls.  This  led  him  closely  to  ex- 
amine the  whole  matter ;  and  he  saw  that  when  the  au- 
thority of  scripture  alone  was  referred  to  in  matters  of 
church  arrangement  and  regulation,  it  enjoined  no  particu- 
lar form  of  administration  as  binding,  but  left  the  applica- 
tion of  certain  great  and  inviolable  principles  to  the  piety 
and  prudence  of  those  whom  God  might  honour  as  the 
instruments  of  usefulness  to  the  souls  of  men.  Here  he 
took  his  stand ;  and  he  proceeded  to  call  forth  preachers, 
and  set  them  apart  or  ordain  them*  to  the  sacred  office, 
*  The  act  of  setting  apart  ministers  by  Mr.  Wesley,  but  without 
imposition  of  hands,  is  here  called  their  ordination,  although  that 
term  has  not  been  generally  in  use  among  us;  and  may  be  objected  to 
by  those  who  do  not  consider  that  imposition  of  hands,  however  im- 
pressive as  a  form,  and  in  most  churches  the  unifonn  practice,  is  still 
but  a  circumstance,  and  cannot  enter  into  the  essence  of  ordination. 
That  every  religious  society  has  the  power  to  determine  the  mode  in 
which  "  the  separation"  of  its  ministers  "  to  the  gospel  of  God"  shall 
be  visibly  notified  and  expressed,  will  only  be  questioned  by  those 
whom  prejudice  and  a  wretched  bigotry  have  brouglit  under  their  in- 
fluence. What  the  body  of  Methodists  now  practise  in  this  respect, 
will,  however,  be  allowed  to  stand  on  clearer  ground  than  the  pro- 
ceedings of  Mr.  Wesley,  who  still  continued  in  communion  with  the 
church.  It  has  therefore  been  generally  supposed,  that  Mr.  Wesley 
did  not  consider  his  appointment  of  preachers  without  imposition  of 
hands,  as  an  ordination  to  the  ministry ;  but  only  as  an  irregular  em- 
ployment of  laymen  in  the'spiritual  ofHce  of  merely  expounding  the 
scriptures  in  a  case  of  moral  necessity.  This,  however,  is  not  cor- 
rect. They  were  not  appointed  to  expound  or  preach  merely,  but 
were  solemnly  set  apart  to  the  pastoral  office,  as  the  minutes  of  the 
conference  show ;  nor  were  they  regarded  by  him  as  laymen,  except 
when  in  common  parlance  they  were  distinguished  from  the  clergy 
of  the  church  ;  in  which  case  he  would  have  called  any  dissenting 
minister  a  layman.  The  first  extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  confer- 
ences above  given,  sufficiently  shows  that  as  to  the  church  of  Christ  at 
large,  and  as  to  his  own  societies,  he  regarded  the  preachers  when 
fully  devoted  to  the  work,  not  as  laymen,  but  as  spiritual  men,  and 
ministers ;  men,  as  he  says,  "moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost"  to  preach 
the  Gospel,  and  who  after  trial  were  ordained  to  that  and  other 
branches  of  the  pastoral  office.  In  his  sketch  of  the  origin  of  church 
government  in  that  extract,  he  clearly  had  in  view  the  conformity 
between  what  had  taken  place  in  his  own  case,  and  that  which  must, 


140 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


and  to  enlarge  the  work  by  their  means,  under  the  full 
conviction  of  his  acting  under  asclear  a  scriptural  authority 
as  could  be  pleaded  by  churchmen  for  episcopacy,  by  the 
Presbyterians  for  presbytery,  or  by  the  Congregationalists 
for  independency.  Still  he  did  not  go  beyond  the  necessity. 
He  could  make  this  scripturnl  appointment  of  ministers 
and  ordinances,  without  renouncing  communion  with  the 
national  church,  and  therefore  he  did  not  renounce  it.  In 
these  views  Charles  Wesley  too,  who  was  at  every  one  of 
the  early  conferences,  concurred  with  him  ;  and  if  he 
thought  somewhat  differently  on  these  points  afterwaijds, 
it  was  Charles  wlio  departed  from  first  principles,  not 
John.  So  much  for  the  accuracy  of  Dr.  Whitehead,  who 
constructed  his  life  of  the  two  brothers  upon  just  the  oppo- 
site opinion  ! 

The  discipline  which  Mr.  Wesley  maintained  in  the 
societies,  was  lenient  and  long  suffering  ;  but  where  there 
was  an  evil  at  the  root,  he  had  an  unsparing  hand.  In 
March,  1746,  he  came  to  Nottingham,  and  observes,  "I 
had  long  doubted  what  it  was  whicli  hindered  the  work  of 
God  here.  But  upon  inquiry  the  case  was  plain.  So  many 
of  the  society  were  eitlier  triflers,  or  disorderly  walkers, 
that  the  blessing  of  God  could  not  rest  upon  them.  So  I 
made  short  work  by  cutting  off  all  such  at  a  stroke,  and 

in  a  great  number  of  instances,  have  occurred  in  the  earliest  periods 
of  Christianity  ;  and  whilst  he  evidently  refers  to  himself  as  the 
father  and  bishop  of  the  whole  of  the  societies,  he  tacitly  compares 
his  " assistants"  to  the  ancient  "  prcsbyfers,"  and  his  "helpers"  to 
the  ancient  "deacons."  In  point  of  fiict,  so  fully  did  he  consider  him- 
selfeven  in  1747,(whether  consistently  or  not  as  a  churchman,let  others 
determine,  I  speak  onlyto  the  fact,)  as  se/<ing-  apart  or  ordaining  to  the 
ministry,  that  he  appears  to  have  had  thoughts  of  adding  imposition  of 
hands  to  his  usual  mode  of  ordination,  which  was  preceded  by  fasting 
and  private  prayer,  and  consisted  of  public  examination,  prayer,  and 
appointment;  and  he  only  declines  this  for  prudential  reasons. 
"  Why,"  says  he,  "  do  we  not  use  more  form  in  receiving  a  new  la- 
bourer"? 1.  Because  there  is  something  of  statelincss  in  it,  and  we 
would  be  litcle  and  inconsiderable.  2.  Because  we  would  not  make 
haste :  we  desire  barely  to  follow  Providence  as  it  gradually  opens.'' 
{Minutes  o/"1747.)  Even  this  form  therefore  was  regarded  as  what 
might  in  other  circumstances  be  required.  The  bearing  of  these  re- 
marks upon  some  future  ordinations  of  Mr.  Wesley  by  imposition  pf 
bands,  will  be  pointed  out  in  its  proper  place. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


141 


leaving  only  that  little  handful,  who,  as  far  as  could  be 
judged,  were  really  in  earnest  to  save  their  souls." 

At  Wednesbury  and  Birmingham  he  found  that  some 
Antinomian  teachers,  the  offspring  of  that  seed  which 
before  the  recent  revival  of  religion  had  been  sown  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  tlie  country,  and  who  in  that  concern  about 
spiritual  things  which  now  prevailed,  began  more  zeal- 
ously to  bestir  themselves  to  mislead  and  destroy  the  souls 
of  men,  under  pretence  of  preaching  a  purer  gospel,  had 
troubled  th-e  societies.  By  personal  conversation  with 
some  of  these  teacliers,  in  the  presence  of  the  people,  he 
drew  out  the  odious  extent  to  which  they  carried  their 
notions  of  "  Christian  liberty  and  thus  toolc  an  effectual 
method  of  exposing  and  confuting  the  deadly  error. 

Upon  his  return  to  London,  it  appeared  that  certain 
pretended  prophets  had  appeared  in  the  metropolis,  and 
had  excited  the  attention  of  many.  He  gratified  his 
curiosity  by  going  to  visit  one  of  them,  and  with  good 
humoured  sarcasm  observes,  that  as  "  he  aimed  at  talking 
Latin  and  could  not,  he  plainly  showed  that  he  did  not 
understand  his  own  calling."  Sober  Scotland  has  in  our 
own  day  exhibited  a  similar  fanaticism ;  and  the  gift  of 
tongues,  pretended  by  some  persons  there,  appears  to  have 
proved  quite  as  unsatisfactory  an  evidence  of  a  divine  com- 
mission, as  in  this  case.  In  visiting  Newgate  he  found  a 
penitent  and  hopeful  malefactor  ;  and  his  Journal  affords 
a  specimen  of  tliat  originality  of  remark,  whicli  peculiar 
cases,  often  perplexing  to  others,  called  fortli  from  him. 
"  A  real,  deep  work  of  God  seemed  to  be  already  begun 
in  his  soul.  Perhaps  by  driving  him  too  fast,  Satan  has 
driven  him  to  God  ;  to  that  repentance,  which  shall  never 
be  repented  of"  Wien  he  subsequently  visited  Dr.  Dodd 
under  condemnation,  he  is  reported  to  have  replied  to  his 
apologies  for  receiving  him  in  the  condemned  cell,  "  Cou- 
rage, brother ;  perhaps  God  saw  that  nothing  else  would  do." 

Bristol,  Wales,  Devonshire,  and  Cornwall,  occupied  Mr. 
Wesley's  attention  during  the  summer  of  1746,  and  Lon- 
don, Bristol,  and  the  places  adjacent,  for  the  remainder  of 
the  year.  About  this  time  also  he  received  various  letters 
from  the  army  abroad,  giving  an  account  of  the  progress 
of  religion  among  the  soldiers,  and  of  the  brave  demean- 
13* 


142 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


our  in  battle  of  many  of  their  Methodist  comrades.  These 
accounts  appear  to  have  given  him  great  satisfaction ; 
as  showing  the  power  of  religion  in  new  circumstances, 
and  as  affording  him  an  answer  to  his  enemies,  who  as- 
serted that  his  doctrines  had  the  effect  of  making  men 
dastardly,  negligent  of  duly,  and  disloyal.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  year  1747,  we  find  him  braving  the  snows  of 
February  in  Lincolnshire ;  and  in  March  he  reached 
Newcastle,  to  supply  the  absence  of  his  brother  from  that 
important  station. 

Among  other  excellencies  possessed  by  this  great  man, 
he  was  fend  of  smoothing  the  path  of  knowledge,  to  the 
diffusion  of  which  he  devoted  much  attention,  and  for 
which  end  he  published  several  compendiunis  and  brief 
treatises  on  its  most  important  branches.  In  this  respect 
also  he  was  foremost  to  tread  in  a  path,  which  has  been 
of  late  years  vigorously  pursued,  and  must  be  reckoned  as 
one  of  the  leaders  of  that  class  of  wise  and  benevolent 
men,  who  have  exerted  themselves  to  extend  the  benefifa 
of  useful  information  from  the  privileged  orders  of  society, 
into  the  middle  and  lower  classes.  "  This  week,"  says  he, 
"I  read  over  with  some  young  men,  a  compendium  of 
rhetoric,  and  a  system  of  ethics.  I  see  not  why  a  man  of 
tolerable  understanding  may  not  in  six  months'  time,  learn 
more  of  solid  philosophy  than  is  commonly  learned  at 
Oxford  in  four  (perhaps  seven)  years." 

On  his  return  from  his  labours  in  the  North  of  Eng- 
land, he  called  at  Manchester,  which  he  had  formerly  se- 
veral times  visited  in  order  to  take  counsel  with  his  col- 
lege friend  Clayton,  and  Dr.  Byrom,  and  had  preached  in 
the  churches.  He  was  now  seen  there  in  a  new  charac- 
ter. The  small  house  which  was  occupied  by  the  society 
could  not  contain  a  tenth  part  of  the  people,  and  he  there- 
fore walked  to  Salford  Cross.  "  A  numberless  crowd  of 
people  partly  ran  before,  partly  followed  after  me.  I 
thought  i-t  best  not  to  sing,  but  looking  round,  asked  ab- 
ruptly, '  Why  do  you  look  as  if  you  had  never  seen  me 
before  ?  Many  of  you  have  seen  me  in  the  neighbouring 
church,  both  preaching  and  administering  the  sacrament.' 
I  then  gave  out  the  text,  Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  he  may 
be  found ;  call  ivpon  him  while  he  i$  near.    None  inter- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


143 


rupted  at  all,  or  made  any  disturbance,  till,  as  I  was  draw- 
ing to  a  conclusion,  a  big  man  thrust  in,  with  three  or 
four  more,  and  bade  them  '  bring  out  the  engine.'  Our 
friends  desired  me  to  remove  into  a  yard  just  by,  which 
I  did,  and  concluded  in  peace." 

From  the  north  he  proceeded  through  Nottingham  and 
Staffordshire  to  London,  and  from  thence  to  the  West  of 
England.  The  influence  which  his  calm  courage  often 
gave  him  over  mobs  was  remarkably  showii  on  this  jour- 
ney. "  Within  two  miles  of  Plymouth,  one  overtook  and 
informed  us,  that  the  night  before,  all  the  Dock  was  in  an 
uproar ;  and  that  a  constable,  endeavouring  to  keep  the 
peace,  was  beaten  and  much  hurl.  As  we  were  entering 
the  dock,  one  met  us,  and  desired  we  would  go  the  back- 
way.  '  For,'  said  he,  '  there  are  thousands  of  people  wait- 
ing about  Mr.  Hyde's  door.'  We  rode  up  straight  into 
the  midst  of  them.  They  saluted  us  Avith  three  huzzas ; 
after  which  I  alighted,  took  several  of  them  by  the  hand, 
and  began  to  talk  with  them.  I  would  gladly  have  passed 
an  hour  among  them,  and  believe  if  I  had,  there  had  been 
an  end  of  the  riot ;  but  the  day  being  far  spent  (for  it  was 
past  nine  o'clock)  I  was  persuaded  to  go  in.  The  mob 
then  recovei-ed  their  spirits,  and  fought  valiantly  with  the 
doors  and  windows.  But  about  ten  they  were  weary,  and 
went  every  man  to  his  own  home.  The  next  day  I 
preached  at  four,  and  then  spoke  severally  to  a  part  of 
the  society.  About  six  in  the  evening  I  went  to  the  place 
where  I  preached  the  last  year.  A  little  before  we  had 
ended  the  hymn,  came  a  lieutenant,  a  famous  man,  with 
his  retinue  of  soldiers,  drummers,  and  mob.  AVhen  the 
drums  ceased,  a  gentleman-barber  began  to  speak ;  but 
his  voice  was  quickly  drowned  in  the  shouts  of  the  mul- 
titude, who  grew  fiercer  and  fiercer  as  their  numbers  in- 
creased. After  waiting  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  per- 
ceiving the  violence  of  the  rabble  still  increasing,  I  walk- 
ed down  into  the  thickest  of  them,  and  took  the  captain  of 
the  mob  by  the  hand.  He  immediately  said,  '  Sir,  I  will 
see  yon  safe  home.  Sir,  no  man  shall  touch  you.  Gen- 
tlemen, stand  off.  Give  back.  I  will  knock  the  first  man 
down  that  touches  him.'  We  walked  on  in  great  peace ; 
my  conductor  every  now  and  then  stretching  out  his  neck, 


144 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


(he  was  a  very  tall  man,)  and  looking  round,  to  see  if 
any  behaved  rudely,  till  we  came  to  Mr.  Hyde's  door. 
We  then  parted  in  much  love.  I  stayed  in  the  street 
near  half  an  hour  after  he  was  gone,  talking  with  the 
people,  who  had  now  forgot  their  anger,  and  went  away 
in  high  good  humour." 

In  Cornwall  we  have  a  specimen  of  his  prompt  and 
faithful  habits  of  disciphne. 

"  Wednesday  8  :  I  preached  at  St.  Ives,  then  at  Sith- 
ney.  On  Thursday  the  stewards  of  all  the  societies  met. 
I  now  diligently  inquired,  what  exhorters  there  were  in 
each  society  1  Whether  they  had  gifts  meet  for  the  work  ? 
Whether  their  lives  were  eminently  holy  ?  And  whether 
there  appeared  any  fruit  of  their  labour  ?  I  found  upon 
the  whole,  1.  That  there  were  no  fewer  than  eighteen  ex- 
horters in  the  county  :  2.  That  three  of  these  had  no 
gifts  at  all  for  the  work,  neither  natural  nor  supernatural : 
3.  That  a  fourth  had  neither  gifts  nor  grace,  but  was  a 
dull,  empty,  self-conceited  man :  4.  That  a  fifth  had  con- 
siderable gifts,  but  had  evidently  made  shipwreck  of  the 
grace  of  God.  These  therefore  I  determined  immediately 
to  set  aside,  and  advise  our  societies  not  to  hear  them. 
5.  That  J.  B.,  A.  L.,  and  J.  W.,  had  gifts  and  grace,  and 
had  been  much  blessed  in  the  work.  Lastly,  That  the  rest 
miglit  be  helpful  when  there  was  no  preacher,  in  their  own 
or  the  neighbouring  societies,  provided  they  would  take 
no  step  without  the  advice  of  those  who  had  more  expe- 
rience than  themselves." 

In  August  he  visited  Ireland  for  the  first  time.  Metho- 
dism had  been  introduced  into  Dublin  by  Mr.  Williams, 
one  of  the  preachers,  whose  ministry  had  been  attended 
with  great  success,  so  that  a  considerable  society  had  beea 
already  formed.  Mr.  Wesley  was  allowed  to  preach  once 
at  St.  Mary's,  "  to  as  gay  and  senseless  a  congregation," 
he  observes,  "  as  I  ever  saw."  This  was  not,  however,  per- 
mitted a  second  time  ;  and  he  occupied  the  spacious  yard  of 
the  meeting-house,  both  in  the  mornings  and  evenings, 
preaching  to  large  congregations  of  both  poor  and  rich. 
Among  his  hearers  he  had  also  ministers  of  various  de- 
nominations. The  state  of  the  Catholics  excited  his  pe- 
culiar sympathy  ;  and  as  he  could  have  little  access  to 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


145 


them  by  preaching,  he  published  an  address  specially  for 
their  use.  In  his  Journal  he  makes  a  remark  on  the  reli- 
gious neglect  of  this  class  of  our  fellow-subjects  by  pro- 
testants,  which  contains  a  reproof,  the  force  of  which  has, 
unhappily,  extended  to  our  own  times  : — "  Nor  is  it  any 
wonder,  that  those  who  are  born  papists,  generally  live 
and  die  such  ;  Avhen  the  protestants  can  find  no  better 
ways  to  convert  them,  than  penal  laws  and  acts  of  parlia- 
ment." The  chief  perplexities  which  Ireland  has  occa- 
sioned to  the  empire  are  to  be  traced  to  this  neglect ;  and 
the  dangers  which  have  often  sprung  up  to  the  state  from 
that  quarter,  have  been,  and  continue  to  be,  its  appropriate 
punishment.  Mr.  Wesley's  visit,  at  this  time,  to  Ireland 
was  short ;  but  he  requested  his  brother  to  succeed  him. 
Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  therefore,  accompanied  by  another 
preacher,  Mr.  Charles  Perronet,  one  of  the  sons  of  the 
venerable  vicar  of  Shoreham,  arrived  there  in  September. 
A  persecution  had  broken  out  against  the  infant  society  in 
Dublin,  and  "the  first  news,"  says  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  "we 
heard  was,  that  the  little  flock  stood  fast  in  the  storm  of 
persecution,  which  arose  as  soon  as  my  brother  left  them. 
The  popish  mob  broke  open  their  room,  and  destroyed  all 
before  them.  Some  of  them  are  sent  to  Newgate,  others 
bailed.  What  will  be  the  event  we  know  not,  till  we  see 
whether  the  grand  jury  will  find  the  bill."  He  after- 
wards states  that  the  grand  jury  threw  out  the  bill,  and 
thus  gave  up  the  Methodists  to  the  fury  of  a  licentious 
mob.  "  God  has  called  me  to  suffer  affliction  with  his 
people.  I  began  my  ministry  with  '  Com.fort  ye,  comfort 
ye  my  people,'  &c.  I  met  the  society,  and  the  Lord  knit 
our  hearts  together  in  love  stronger  than  death.  We  both 
wept  and  rejoiced  for  the  consolation.  God  hath  sent  me, 
I  trust,  to  confirm  these  souls,  and  to  keep  them  together 
in  the  present  distress."* 

Mr.  Charles  Wesley  spent  the  winter  in  Dublin,  being 
daily  employed  in  preaching,  and  visiting  the  people.  In 
February  he  made  an  excursion  into  the  country,  where 
a  few  preachers  were  already  labouring,  and,  in  some  pla- 
ces, with  great  success.    Thus  was  the  first  active  and 


♦Whitehead's  Life. 


146 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


systematic  agency  for  the  conversion  of  the  neglected 
people  of  Ireland  commenced  by  the  Methodists ;  and,  till 
of  late  years,  it  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  they  were 
left  to  labour  almost  alone.  From  that  time,  however, 
not  only  was  the  spirit  of  religion  revived  in  many  pro- 
testant  parts  of  the  country,  and  many  papists  converted 
to  the  truth,  but  the  itinerant  plan,  which  was  there  adopt- 
ed as  in  England,  enabled  the  preachers  to  visit  a  great 
number  of  places  where  the  protestants  were  so  few  in 
numbers  as  not  to  be  able  to  keep  up  regular  worship,  or 
to  make  head,  when  left  to  themselves,  against  popish  in- 
fluence. A  barrier  was  thus  erected  against  the  farther 
encroachments  of  popery;  and  the  light  was  kept  burning 
in  districts  where  it  would  otherwise  have  been  entirely 
extinguished.  The  influence  of  the  Methodist  societies 
would,  however,  have  been  much  more  extensive,  had  not 
the  large  emigrations  which  have  been  almost  constantly 
setting  in  from  Ireland  to  America,  borne  away  a  greater 
number  of  their  members  in  proportion  than  those  of  any 
other  community.  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  spent  part  of  the 
year  1748  in  Ireland,  and  preached  in  several  of  the  chief 
towns,  and  especially  at  Cork,  with  great  unction  and 
success. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  notices  of  the  journeys  and  labours  of  these  inde- 
fatigable ministers  of  Christ,  given  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  afford  but  a  specimen  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
foundations  of  the  Methodist  connexion  were  carried  out 
and  firmly  laid.  Nor  were  the  preachers  under  their 
direction,  though  labouring  in  more  limited  districts  of 
country,  scarcely  less  laboriously  employed.  At  this  period 
one  of  them  writes  from  Lancashire  to  Mr.  Wesley : — 
"  Many  doors  are  opened  for  preaching  in  these  parts,  but 
cannot  be  supplied  for  want  of  preachers.  I  think  some 
one  should  be  sent  to  assist  me,  otherwise  we  shall  lose 


LIFE  OP- WESLEY. 


147 


ground.  My  circuit  requires  me  to  travel  one  liundred 
and  fifty  miles  in  two  weeks ;  during  which  time  I  preach 
publicly  thirty-four  times,  besides  meeting  the  societies, 
visiting  the  sick,  and  transacting  other  affairs."* 

Of  the  preachers,  some  were  engaged  in  business,  and 
preached  at  their  leisure  in  their  own  neighbourhoods  ; 
but  stilJ,  zealous  for  the  salvation  of  men,  they  often  took 
considerable  journeys.  Others  gave  themselves  up,  for  a 
time,  to  more  extended  labours,  and  then  settled  :  but  the 
third  class,  who  had  become  the  regular  "  assistants"  and 
"  helpers"  of  Mr.  Wesley,  were  devoted  wholly  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry  ;  and,  after  a  period  of  probation, 
and  a  scrutiny  into  their  character  and  talents  at  the 
annual  conferences,  were  admitted,  by  solemn  prayer, 
into  what  was  called  "  full  connexion,"  which,  as  we  have 
stated,  was  their  ordination.  No  provision  was,  however, 
made  at  this  early  period  for  their  maintenance.  They 
took  neither  "  purse  nor  scrip  they  cast  themselves  upon 
the  providence  of  God,  and  the  hospitality  and  kindness  of 
the  societies,  and  were  by  them,  like  the  primitive  preach- 
ers, "  helped  forward  after  a  godly  sort,"t  on  their  jour- 
neys, to  open  new  places,  and  to  instruct  those  for  whose 
souls  "  no  man  cared."  It  might  be  as  truly  said  of  them 
as  of  the  first  propagators  of  Christianity,  they  had  "  no 
certain  dwelling  place."  Under  the  severity  of  labour, 
and  the  wretched  accommodations  to  which  they  cheer- 
fully submitted,  many  a  fine  constitution  was  broken,  and 
premature  death  was  often  induced. 

The  annual  conferences  have  been  mentioned  ;  and  that 
a  correct  view  may  be  taken  of  the  doctrines  which  at 
those  meetings  it  was  agreed  should  be  taught  in  the  so- 
cieties, it  will  be  necessary  to  go  back  to  their  commence- 
ment. At  first  every  doctrine  was  fully  sifted  in  successive 
"  conversations,"  and  the  great  principles  of  a  godly  dis- 
cipline were  drawn  out  into  special  regulations,  as  circum- 
stances appeared  to  require.  After  the  body  had  acquired 
greater  maturity,  these  doctrinal  discussions  became  less 

*  Whitehead's  Life. 

t  The  want  of  a  provision  for  their  wives  and  families,  in  the  early 
periods  of  Methodism,  caused  the  loss  of  many  eminent  preachers,  who 
were  obliged  to  settle  in  independent  congregations. 


148 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


frequent ;  a  standard  and  a  test  being  ultimately  established 
in  a  select  number  of  Mr.  Wesley's  doctrinal  sermons,  and 
in  iiis  "  Notes  on  the  New  Testament."  The  free  and 
pious  spirit  in  which  these  inquiries  were  entered  into 
was  strikingly  marked  at  the  first  conferences,  in  the 
commencing  exhortation  : — "  Let  us  all  pray  for  a  willing- 
ness to  receive  light,  to  know  of  every  doctrine  whether 
it  be  of  God."  The  widest  principle  of  Christian  liberty 
was  also  laid  down,  as  suited  to  the  infant  state  of  a  soci- 
ety which  was  but  just  beginning  to  take  its  ground,  and 
to  assume  the  appearance  of  order. 

"  Q.  3.  How  far  does  each  of  us  agree  to  submit  to  the 
judgment  of  the  majority  ? 

"  A.  In  speculative  things,  each  can  only  submit  so  far 
as  his  judgment  shall  be  convinced  ;  in  every  practical 
point,  each  will  submit  so  far  as  he  can,  without  wound- 
ing his  conscience. 

"  Q.  4.  Can  a  Christian  submit  any  farther  than  this  to 
any  man,  or  number  of  men,  upon  earth  ? 

"  A.  It  is  plain  he  cannot ;  either  to  bishop,  convoca- 
tion, or  general  council.  And  this  is  that  grand  princi- 
ple of  private  judgment  on  which  all  the  reformers  at 
home  and  abroad  proceeded :  '  Every  man  must  judge 
for  himself;  because  every  man  must  give  an  account  of 
himself  to  God.'  "* 

Never,  it  may  be  affirmed,  was  the  formation  of  any 
Christian  society  marked  by  the  recognition  of  principles 
more  liberal,  or  more  fully  in  the  spirit  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

To  some  of  the  doctrinal  conversations  of  the  first 
conferences,  it  is  necessary  to  refer,  in  order  to  mark 
those  peculiarities  of  opinion  which  distinguish  the  Wes- 
leyan  Methodists.  It  is,  however,  proper  to  observe,  that 
the  clergymen  and  others  who  thus  assembled  did  not 
meet  to  draw  up  formal  articles  of  faith.  They  admitted 
those  of  the  church  of  England ;  and  their  principal  ob- 
ject was  to  ascertain  how  several  of  the  doctrines  relative 
to  experimental  Christianity,  which  they  found  stated  in 
substance  in  those  articles,  and  farther  illustrated  in  the 

»  Minutes. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


149 


homilies,  were  to  be  understood  and  explained.  This  light 
they  sought  from  mutual  discussion,  m  which  every  thing 
was  brought  to  the  standard  of  the  word  of  inspired 
truth. 

Their  first  subject  was  justification^  which  they  de- 
scribe with  great  simplicity;  not  loading  it  with  epithets, 
as  in  the  systematic  schools,  nor  perplexing  it  by  verbal 
criticism.  It  is  defined  to  be  "  pardon,"  or  "  reception 
into  God's  favour a  view  which  is  amply  supported  by 
several  explicit  passages  of  Scripture,  in  which  the  terms, 
"  pardon,"  "  forgiveness,"  and  "  remission  of  sins,"  are 
used  convertibly  with  the  term  "justification."  To  be 
"  received  into  God's  favour,"  according  to  these  minutes, 
is  necessarily  connected  with  the  act  of  forgiveness,  and 
is  the  immediate  and  inseparable  consequence  of  that  gra- 
cious procedure.  The  same  may  be  said  of  adoption ; 
which,  in  some  theological  schemes,  is  made  to  flow  from 
regeneration,  while  the  latter  is  held  to  commence  previ- 
ously to  justification.  In  Mr.  Wesley's  views  adoption, 
as  being  a  relative  change,  is  supposed  to  be  necessarily 
involved  in  justification,  or  the  pardon  of  sin;  and  re- 
generation to  flow  from  both,  as  an  inward  moral  change 
arising  from  the  powerful  and  eflicacious  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  is  in  that  moment  given  to  believers.* 
To  their  definition  of  justification,  the  minutes  add,  "  It 
is  such  a  state  that,  if  we  continue  therein,  we  shall  be 
finally  saved  ;"  thus  making  final  salvation  conditional, 
and  justification  a  state  which  may  be  forfeited.  Al'i 
wilful  sin  was  held  to  imply  a  casting  away  of  vital  faith, 
and  thereby  to  bring  a  man  under  wrath  and  condemna- 
tion; "nor  is  it  possible  for  him  to  have  justifying  faith 
again  without  previously  repenting."  They  also  agree 
that  faith  is  "the  condition  of  justification;"  adding,  as 
the  proof,  "  for  every  one  that  believeth  not  is  condemn- 

*  The  connexion  of  favour  and  adoption  with  pardon,  arises  from 
the  very  nature  of  that  act.  Pardon,  or  forgiveness,  is  release  from 
the  penalties  and  forfeitures  incurred  by  transgression.  Of  those 
penalties,  the  loss  of  God's  favour  and  of  filial  relation  to  him  wa.s 
among  the  most  weighty ; — pardon,  therefore,  in  its  nature,  or  at  least 
in  its  natural  consequences,  implies  a  restoration  to  the  blessings  for- 
feited, for  else  the  penalty  would  in  part  remain  in  force. 

14 


150 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


ed,  and  every  one  who  believes  is  justified,"  In  Mr. 
Wesley's  sermon  on  justification  by  faith,  the  office  of 
faith  in  justifying  is  thus  more  largely  set  forth: — 

"  Surely  the  difficulty  of  assenting  to  the  proposition, 
that  faith  is  the  only  coyidition  of  justification,  must  arise 
from  not  understanding  it.  We  mean  thereby  thus  much, 
that  it  is  the  only  thing,  without  which  no  one  is  justified; 
the  only  thing  that  is  immediately,  indispensably,  abso- 
lutely requisite  in  order  to  pardon.  As  on  the  one  hand, 
though  a  man  should  have  every  thing  else,  without  faith, 
yet  he  cannot  be  justified ;  so  on  the  other,  though  he  be 
supposed  to  want  every  thing  else,  yet  if  he  hath  faith,  he 
cannot  but  be  justified.  For  suppose  a  sinner  of  any  kind 
or  degree,  in  a  full  sense  of  his  total  ungodliness,  of  his 
utter  inability  to  think,  speak,  or  do  good,  and  his  abso- 
lute meetness  for  hell-fire;  suppose,  I  say,  this  sinner, 
helpless  and  hopeless,  casts  himself  wholly  on  the  mercy 
of  God  in  Christ,  (which  indeed  he  cannot  do  but  by  the 
grace  of  God,)  who  can  doubt  but  he  is  forgiven  in  that 
moment  ?  Wlio  will  affirm  that  any  more  is  indispensa- 
bly required,  before  that  sinner  can  be  justified  ? 

"  And  at  what  time  soever  a  sinner  thus  believes,  be  it 
in  his  early  childhood,  in  the  strength  of  his  years,  or 
when  he  is  old  and  hoary-headed,  God  justifieth  that  un- 
godly one ;  God,  for  the  sake  of  his  Son,  pardoneth  and 
absolveth  him,  Avho  had  in  him,  till  then,  no  good  thing. 
Repentance,  indeed,  God  had  given  him  before ;  but  that 
repentance  was  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  deep  sense 
of  the  want  of  all  good,  and  the  presence  of  all  evil.  And 
whatever  good  he  hath  or  doeth  from  that  hour,  when  he 
first  believes  in  God  through  Christ,  faith  does  not  find, 
but  bring.  This  is  the  fruit  of  faith.  First,  the  tree  is 
good,  and  then  the  fruit  is  good  also." 

Mr.  Wesley's  views  of  repentance  in  this  passage  will 
also  be  noted.  Here,  as  at  the  first  conference,  he  insists 
that  repentance,  which  is  conviction  of  sin,  and  works 
meet  for  repentance,  go  before  justifying  faith;  but  he 
held,  with  the  church  of  England,  that  all  works,  before 
justification,  had  "  the  nature  of  sin ;"  and  that,  as  they 
had  no  root  in  the  love  of  God,  which  can  only  arise 
from  a  persuasion  of  his  being  reconciled  to  us,  they 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


151 


could  not  constitute  a  moral  worthiness  preparatory  to 
pardon.  That  a  true  repentance  springs  from  the  grace  of 
God  is  certain;  but  whatever  fruits  it  may  bring  forth,  it 
changes  not  man's  relation  to  God.  He  is  a  sinner,  and  is 
justified  as  such;  "for  it  is  not  a  saint  but  a  sinner  tliat 
is  forgiven,  and  under  the  notion  of  a  sinner."  God  jus- 
tifieth  the  ungodly,  not  the  godly.*  Repentance,  accord- 
ing to  his  statement,  is  necessary  to  true  faith ;  but  faith 
alone  is  the  direct  and  immediate  instrument  of  pardon. 

Those  views  of  faith  (of  that  faith  by  which  a  man, 
thus  penitent,  comes  to  God  through  Christ)  which  are 
expressed  in  the  minutes  of  this  first  conference,  deserve 
a  more  particular  consideration.  Here,  as  in  defining  jus- 
tification, the  language  of  the  schools,  and  of  systematic, 
philosophizing  divines,  is  laid  aside,  and  a  simple  enuncia- 
tion is  made  of  the  doctrine  of  the  New  Testament.  "  Faith 
in  general  is  a  divine,  supernatural  elenchos  of  things  not 
seen,  that  is,  of  past,  future,  or  spiritual  things.  It  is  a 
spiritual  sight  of  God,  and  the  things  of  God. "t 

In  this  description,  faith  is  distinguished  from  mere  be- 
lief, or  an  intellectual  conviction  which  the  consideration 
of  the  evidences  of  the  truth  of  Scripture  may  produce, 
and  yet  lead  to  no  practical  or  saving  consequence ;  and 
that  there  may  be  a  sincere  and  undoubting  belief  of  the 
truth,  without  producing  any  saving  effect,  is  a  point 
which  our  very  consciousness  may  sufficiently  assure  us 
of;  although,  in  order  to  support  a  particular  theory  on 
the  subject  of  faith,  this  has  sometimes  been  denied. 
Trust  is  constantly  implied  in  the  scriptural  accounts  of 
acceptable  and  saving  faith,  and  this  is  the  sense  in  which 
it  was  evidently  taken  in  the  above  definition ;  for  its 
production  in  the  heart  is  referred  to  supernatural  agen- 
cy, and  it  is  made  to  result  from,  and  !o  be  essentially 
connected  with,  a  demonstration  of  spiritual  things, — 
such  a  conviction,  wrought  by  the  teaching  Spirit,  as  pro- 
duces not  merely  a  full  persuasion  but  a  full  reliance.  Six 
years  before  this  time,  Mr.  Wesley,  in  a  sermon  before 
the  university  of  Oxford,  liad  more  at  large  expressed 
the  same  views  as  to  justifying  faith  :  "  Christian  faith  is 
not  only  an  assent  to  the  whole  Gospel  of  Christ,  but  also 
♦  Sermons.  t  Minutes. 


152 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


a  full  reliance  on  the  blood  of  Christ;  a  trust  in  the 
merits  of  his  life,  death,  and  resurrection ;  a  recumbency 
upon  him  as  our  atonement  and  our  life,  as  given  for  us, 
and  living  in  us.  It  is  a  sure  confidence  which  a  man 
hath  in  God,  that,  through  the  merits  of  Christ,  his  sins 
are  forgiven,  and  he  reconciled  to  the  favour  of  God ; 
and,  in  consequence  hereof,  a  closing  with  him,  and 
cleaving  to  him,  as  our  '  wisdom,  righteousness,  sancti- 
fication,  and  redemption,'  or,  in  one  word,  our  salvation."* 
It  will  however  be  remarked,  that,  in  order  to  support 
his  view  of  the  nature  of  justifying  faith  by  the  authority 
of  the  church  of  England,  Mr.  Wesley  has  quoted  her 
words  from  the  homily  on  salvation  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  above  extract;  and  he  thereby  involved  the  subject 
in  an  obscurity  which  some  time  afterwards  he  detected 
and  acknowledged.  The  incorrectness  of  the  wording  of 
the  homily  is  indeed  very  apparent,  although  in  substance 
it  is  sound  and  scriptural.  When  that  homily  defines 
justifying  faith  to  be  "a  sure  trust  and  confidence  which 
a  man  hath  in  God  that  his  sins  are  forgiven,  and  he 
reconciled  to  the  favour  of  God,"  it  is  clear  that,  by  the 
founders  of  the  English  church,  saving  faith  was  regarded 
not  as  mere  belief,  but  as  an  act  of  trust  and  confidence 
subsequent  to  the  discovery  made  to  a  man  of  his  sin 
and  danger,  and  the  fear  and  penitential  sorrow  which 
are  thereby  produced.  The  object  of  that  faith  they 
make  to  be  God,  assuredly  referring  to  God  in  the 
exercise  of  his  mercy  through  the  atonement  and  inter- 
cession of  Christ ;  and  the  trust  and  confidence  of  which 
the  homily  speaks  must  be  therefore  taken  to  imply  a 
distinct  recognition  of  the  merits  of  Christ,  and  a  full 
reliance  upon  them.  So  far  all  is  scripturally  correct, 
although  not  so  fully  expressed  as  could  be  desired.  That 
from  such  a  faith  exercised  in  these  circumstances,  a 
"  confidence,"  taking  the  word  in  the  sense  of  persuasion 
or  assurance,  that  '•  a  man's  sins  are  forgiven,  and  he 
reconciled  to  the  favour  of  God,"  certainly  _/b//ows,  is  the 
doctrine  of  Scripture ;  and  the  authority  of  the  homily 
may  therefore  also  be  quoted  in  favour  of  that  view  of 


♦  Sermons. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


153 


assurance  at  which  churchmen  have  so  often  stumbled, 
and  to  which  they  have  so  often  scornfully  referred  as  the 
fanatical  invention  of  modern  sectaries.  There  is,  how- 
ever, an  error  in  the  homily  whicli  lies  not  in  its  sub.stance 
and  general  intent,  but  in  this,  that  it  applies  the  same 
terms,  "  trust  and  confidence,"  both  to  God's  mercy  in 
Christ,  which  is  its  proper  object,  and  to  "  the  forgiveness 
of  sins,"  which  is  the  consequence  of  a  sure  trust  and 
confidence  in  God  as  exercising  mercy  "  through  Christ," 
because  it  is  that  in  order  to  which  the  trust  or  confidence 
Is  exercised.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  either  there  is  an 
error  in  the  latter  part  of  the  statement  itself;  justifying 
faith  not  being  a  confidence  that  sin  is  forgiven,  which  is 
absurd,  because  it  is  the  condition  previously  required  in 
order  to  the  forgiveness  of  sin  ;  or  otherwise,  which  is 
probable,  that  the  term  "  confidence,"  in  the  mind  of  the 
writer  of  the  homily,  was  taken  in  a  ditferent  sense  when 
applied  to  God  the  object  of  trust,  and  to  the  forgiveness 
of  sin  ;  and,  when  referred  to  the  latter,  meant  that  per- 
suasion of  the  fact  of  being  forgiven  which  must  be 
attributed  to  a  secret  assurance  of  remission  and  accept- 
ance by  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  and  which  ordinarily  closely 
follows,  or  is  immediately  connected  with,  justifying  faith, 
but  which  is  not  its  essence.  But  "  confidence"  in  this 
sense  implies  Jilial  confidence,  the  trust  of  a  child,  of  one 
already  passed  into  the  family  of  God,  and  hence  this  is 
rather  the  description  of  the  habitual  faith  of  a  justified 
man  than  of  the  act  by  which  a  sinner  is  justified  and 
adopted.  Mr.  Wesley,  therefore,  soon  perceived  that  the 
definition  of  justifying  faith  Ln  this  homily,  needed  some 
correction,  and  he  thus  expressed  his  views  in  1747,  in  a 
letter  to  his  brother  : — 

"  Is  justifying  faith  a  sense  of  pardon  ?  Negatur."  It 
is  denied. 

"  By  justifying  faith  I  mean  that  faith  which  whosoever 
hath  not  is  under  the  wrath  and  the  curse  of  God.  By  a 
sense  of  pardon  I  mean  a  distinct,  exphcit  assurance  that 
my  sins  are  forgiven. 

"  I  allow,  1.  That  there  is  such  an  explicit  assurance. 
2.  That  it  is  the  common  privilege  of  real  Christians.  3. 
14* 


154 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


That  it  is  the  proper  Christian  faith,  which  purifieth  the 
heart,  and  overcometh  the  world."  ***** 

"  But  the  assertion,  that  justifying  faith  is  a  sense  of 
pardon,  is  contrary  to  reason  ;  it  is  flatly  absurd.  For 
how  can  a  sense  of  our  having  received  pardon,  be  the 
condition  of  our  receiving  it  ? 

"  But  does  not  our  churcli  give  this  account  of  justify- 
ing faith  ?  I  am  sure  she  does  of  saving  or  Christian 
faith:  I  think  she  does  of  justifying  faith  too.  But  to  the 
law  and  to  the  testimony.  All  men  may  err :  but  the 
word  of  the  Lord  shall  stand  for  ever." 

Mr.  Wesley,  however,  still  regarded  that  trust  in  the 
merits  of  Christ's  death,  in  which  justifying  faith  consists, 
as  resulting  from  a  supernatural  conviction  that  Christ 
"  loved  me"  as  an  individual,  and  "  gave  himself  for  me." 
In  this  he  placed  the  proof  that  faith  is  "  the  gift  of  God," 
a  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  being  produced  along  with 
this  conviction,  or  immediately  following  it.  From  this 
supernatural  conviction,  not  only  that  God  was  in  Christ 
"  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself,"  but  that  he  died 
"  for  my  sins,"  there  follows  an  entire  committal  of  the 
case  of  the  soul  to  the  merits  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  in 
an  act  of  trust ; — in  that  moment,  he  held,  God  pardons 
and  absolves  him  that  so  believes  or  trusts,  and  that  this, 
his  pardon  or  justification,  is  then  witnessed  to  him  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Nor  can  a  clearer  or  simpler  view  of  stating 
this  great  subject,  in  accordance  with  the  Scriptures,  be 
well  conceived.  The  state  of  a  penitent  is  one  of  various 
degrees  of  doubt,  but  all  painful.  He  questions  the  love 
of  God  to  him,  from  a  deep  sense  of  his  sin,  although  he 
may  allow  that  He  loves  all  the  world  beside.  Before  he 
can  fully  rely  on  Christ,  and  the  promises  of  the  Gospel, 
he  must  have  heightened  and  more  influential  views  of 
God's  love  in  Christ,  and  of  his  own  interest  in  it.  It  is  the 
office  of  the  Holy  Spirit  "  to  take  of  the  things  of  Christ, 
and  show  them"  to  the  humble  mind.  This  office  of  the 
Spirit  agrees  with  that  cX^xos  or  "  divine  conviction,"  of 
which  Mr.  Wesley  speaks,  and  which  shows,  with  the  pow- 
er of  demonstrative  evidence,  the  love  of  Christ  to  the 
individual  himself  in  the  intention  of  his  sacrifice.  From 
this  results  an  entire  and  joyful  acquiescence  with  tlie 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


155 


appointed  method  of  salvation,  and  a  full  reliance  upon  it, 
followed,  according  to  the  promise  of  Scripture,  with 
actual  forgiveness,  and  the  cheering  testimony  of  the 
Spirit  of  adoption.  Of  this  faith  he  allowed  different 
degrees,  yet  the  lowest  degree  saving ;  and  also  different 
degrees  of  assurance,  and  therefore  of  joy.  He  was  care- 
ful to  avoid  binding  the  work  of  the  Spirit  to  one  rule, 
and  to  distinguish  between  that  peace  which  flows  from 
a  comfortable  persuasion  of  "  acceptance  through  Christ," 
and  those  higlier  joys  which  may  be  produced  by  that 
more  heightened  assurance  which  God  is  pleased  in 
many  cases  to  impart.  He  taught  that  the  essence 
of  true  justifying  faith  consists  in  the  entire  personal 
trust  of  the  man  of  a  penitent  and  broken  spirit  upon 
the  merits  of  his  Saviour,  as  having  died  for  him  ;  and 
that  to  all  who  so  believe,  faith  is  "  imputed  for  right- 
eousness," or,  in  other  words,  pardon  was  adminis- 
tered.* 

*  That  Mr.  Wesley  did  not  hold  that  assurance  of  personal  par- 
don is  of  the  essence  of  justifying  faith  is  certain,  from  the  remarks 
in  his  letter  to  his  brother  before  quoted,  in  which  he  plainly  states, 
that  to  believe  that  I  am  pardoned  in  order  to  pardon,  is  an  absurdity 
and  a  contradiction.  There  will,  however,  appear  some  obscurity  ill 
a  few  other  passages  m  his  writings,  unless  we  notice  the  sense  in 
which  he  uses  certain  tenns,  a  matter  in  which  he  never  felt  liimself 
bouniTby  the  systematic  phra'^eology  of  scholastic  theologians.  Thus 
there  is  an  apparent  discrepancy  between  the  statement  of  his  views 
as  given  above,  and  the  following  passage  in  his  sermon  on  the 
"  Scripture  way  of  Salvation ;" — 

"  Taking  the  word  in  a  more  particular  sense,  faith  is  a  divine  evi- 
dence and  conviction,  not  only  that  '  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling 
the  world  unto  himself;'  but  also  that  Christ  loved  me,  and  gave 
himself  for  me.  It  is  by  faith  (whether  we  term  it,  the  essence,  or 
rather  a  property  thereof)  that  we  receive  Christ,  that  we  receive  him 
in  all  his  offices,  as  Prophet,  Priest,  and  iving.  It  is  by  this  that  he 
is  'made  of  Gtod  unto  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctifica- 
tion,  and  redemption.' 

"  '  But  is  this  l\\o  faith  of  assurance,  or  the  faith  of  adherence?' 
The  Scripture  mentions  no  such  distinction.  The  apostle  says, 
'  There  is  one  faith,  and  one  hope  of  our  calling,'  one  Christian, 
saving  faith,  'as  there  is  one  Lord,'  in  whom  we  believe,  and  'one 
God  and  Father  of  us  all.'  And  it  is  certain,  this  faith  necessarily 
implies  an  assurance  (which  is  here  only  another  word  for  evidence, 
it  being  hard  to  tell  the  diliercnce  between  them)  that  Christ  loved 


156 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


The  immediate  fruits  of  justifying  faith  are  stated  in 
these  minutes  to  be  "  peace,  joy,  love ;  power  over  all 

me,  and  gave  himself  for  me.  For  'he  that  believeth,'  with  the  true 
living  faith,  '  hath  the  witness  in  liimself .'  '  The  Spirit  witnesseth  with 
his  spirit,  that  he  is  a  child  of  God.'  '  Because  he  is  a  son,  God  hath 
sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  his  Son  into  his  heart,  crying,  Abba,  Father;' 
giving  him  an  assurance  that  he  is  so,  and  a  child-like  confidence  in 
him.  But  let  it  be  observed  that,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  thing,  the 
assurance  goes  before  the  confidence.  For  a  man  cannot  have  a 
child-like  confidence  in  God  till  he  know  he  is  a  child  of  God.  There- 
fore confidence,  trust,  reliance,  adherence,  or  vphatever  else  it  be  call- 
ed, is  not  the  first,  as  some  have  supposed,  but  the  second  branch  or 
act  of  faith." 

Yet  in  fact  the  only  difficulty  arises  from  not  attending  to  his  mode 
of  stating  the  case,  and  his  use  of  the  term  assvrance.  When  he 
says  that  faith  includes  both  adherence  and  assurance,  it  is  obvious 
that  he  does  not  mean  by  assurance,  the  assurance  of  personal  accept- 
ance, which  he  distinctly,  in  the  same  passage,  ascribes  to  the  direct 
testimony  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  but  the  assurance  ttiat  Christ  "  died 
for  me,"  "  for  my  sins,"  which  special  manifestation  of  God's  love  in 
Christ  to  me  as  an  individual,  producing  an  entire  trust  in  the  divine 
sacrifice  for  sin,  he  attributes  to  a  supernatural  elenchos  or  conviction. 
This,  however,  he  considers  as  a  "conviction"  in  order  to  faith  or 
trust ;  and  then  the  act  of  personal  and  entire  trust  in  this  manifest- 
ed love  and  goodness  is  succeeded  by  the  direct  testimony  of  the  Spirit 
of  adoption,  which  he  tells  us  gives  a  man  "  the  assurance  that  i\f  is 
a  child  of  God,  and  a  child-like  confidence  in  him."  And  when  he 
goes  on  so  truly  to  state,  that,  "  in  the  very  nature  of  the  thing,  the 
assurance  goes  before  the  confidence,"  and  that  "  confidence,  tmst,  or 
reliance,"  is  not  the  first  but  the  second  branch  of  faith,  he  evidently 
does  not  here  mean  that  confidence  and  trust  in  the  merit  of  Christ 
by  which  we  are  justified,  but  JUial  trust  and  confidence  in  God  as 
our  reconciled  Father,  which  must  necessarily  be  subsequent  to  the 
other.  According  to  Mr.  Wesley's  views,  the  order  of  our  passing 
into  a  state  of  justification,  and  conscious  reconcilement  to  God,  is,  1. 
True  repentance,  which,  however,  gives  us  no  worthiness,  and  esta- 
blishes no  claim  upon  pardon,  although  it  so  necessarily  precedes  jus- 
tifying faith,  that  all  trust  even  in  the  merits  of  Christ  for  salvation 
would  be  presumptuous  and  unauthorized  without  repentance ;  since, 
as  he  says,  "Christ  is  not  even  to  be  offered  to  the  careless  sinner.""* 
2.  A  supernatural  elenchos,  or  assured  conviction,  that  "Christ  loved 
me,  and  gave  himself  for  me,"  in  the  intention  of  his  death;  inciting 
to  and  producing  full  acquiescence  with  God's  method  of  saving  the 
guilty,  and  an  entire  personal  trust  in  Christ's  atonement  for  sin.  Of 
this  trust,  actual  justification  is  the  result;  but  then  follows,  3.  The 


*  Sermon  on  "  the  law  established  through  faith," 


LIFE  OK  WESLEY. 


157 


outward  sin,  and  power  to  keep  down  inward  sin."  Jus- 
tifying faith,  when  lost,  is  not  again  attainable,  except  by 
repentance  and  prayer ;  but  "  no  believer  need  come  again 
into  a  state  of  doubt,  or  fear,  or  darkness ;  and  that  (ordi- 
narily at  least)  he  will  not,  unless  by  ignorance  or  un- 
faithfulness." Assaults  of  doubt  and  fear  are  however 
admitted,  even  after  great  confidence  and  joy  ;  and  "  occa- 
sional heaviness  of  spirit  before  large  manifestations  of 
the  presence  and  favour  of  God."  To  these  views  of 
doctrine  may  be  added,  tliat  regeneration  or  the  new  birth 
is  held  to  be  concomitant  with  justification.  "  Good  works 
cannot  go  before  this  faitli ;  much  less  can  sanctification, 
which  implies  a  continued  course  of  good  works,  spring- 
ing from  holiness  of  heart ;  but  they  follow  after :"  and 
the  reason  given  for  this  is,  that  as  salvation,  which  in- 
cludes a  present  deliverance  from  sin,  a  restoration  of  the 
soul  to  its  primitive  health,  the  renewing  of  the  soul  after 
the  image  of  God,  all  holy  and  heavenly  tempers  and  con- 
versation, it  is  by  faith,  it  cannot  precede  faith,  which  is 
the  appointed  instrument  of  attaining  it.  To  increase  in 
all  these  branches  of  holiness,  the  exercise  of  faith  in 
prayer,  and  the  use  of  all  the  means  appointed  by  God, 
are  also  necessary;  a  living  faith  being  that  which  unites 
the  soul  to  Christ,  and  secures  the  constant  indwelling 
and  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  heart.  Such  a 
faith  must  therefore  necessarily  lead  to  universal  holiness 
of  heart  and  life,  and  stands  as  an  impregnable  barrier 
against  Pharisaism  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  pollutions  of 
Antinomianism  on  the  other. 

On  another  doctrine,  in  defence  of  which  Mr.  Wesley 
afterwards  wrote  much,  these  early  minutes  of  conference 
contain  perhaps  the  be.st  epitome  of  his  views,  and  may 
be  somewhat  at  length  quoted. 

"  Q.  1.  Wliat  is  it  to  be  sanctified? 

direct  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  gi\'ing  assurance  in  different  de- 
grees, in  different  persons,  and  often  in  the  same  person,  that  I  am  a 
child  of  God ;  and,  4.  Filial  confulciice  in  God.  The  elenchos,  the 
trust,  the  Spirit's  mtness,  and  the  flial  confidence  he  held,  were 
frequently,  but  not  always,  so  closely  united  a.s  not  to  be  distinguish- 
ed as  to  time,  though  each  is,  from  its  nature^  successive  and  distinct. 


158 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


"  A.  To  be  renewed  in  the  image  of  God,  in  righteous- 
ness and  true  holiness. 

"  Q.  2.  Is  faith  the  condition,  or  the  instrument,  of 
sanctification  ? 

'■'•A.  It  is  both  the  condition  and  instrument  of  it. 
When  we  begin  to  believe,  then  sanctification  begins. 
And  as  faith  increases,  holiness  increases,  till  we  are  cre- 
ated anew. 

"  Q.  3.  What  is  implied  in  being  a  perfect  Christian  ? 

"  A.  The  loving  the  Lord  our  God  with  all  our  heart, 
and  with  all  our  mind,  and  soul,  and  strength,  Deut.  vi.  5 ; 
XXX.  6  ;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25 — 29. 

"  Q.  4.  Does  this  imply  that  all  inward  sin  is  taken 
away  ? 

"  A.  Without  doubt :  or  how  could  he  be  said  to  be  sa- 
ved '  from  all  his  uncleannesses  V  Ezek.  xxxvi.  29." 
And  again, — 

"  Q.  1.  How  much  is  allowed  by  our  brethren  who 
differ  from  us,  with  regard  to  entire  sanctification  ? 

'■'■A.  They  grant,  1.  That  every  one  must  be  entirely 
sanctified  in  the  article  of  death. 

"  2.  That,  till  then,  a  believer  daily  grows  in  grace, 
comes  nearer  and  nearer  to  perfection. 

"  3.  That  we  ought  to  be  continually  pressing  after 
this,  and  to  exhort  all  others  so  to  do. 

"  Q.  2.  What  do  we  allow  to  them? 

"  A.  We  grant,  1.  That  many  of  those  who  have  died 
in  the  faith,  yea,  the  greater  part  of  those  we  have  known, 
were  not  sanctified  throughout,  not  made  perfect  in  love, 
till  a  little  before  death. 

"  2.  That  the  term  '  sanctified,'  is  continually  applied  by 
Saint  Paul  to  all  that  were  justified,  were  true  believers. 

"  3.  That  by  this  term  alone,  he  rarely  (if  ever)  means, 
saved  from  all  sin. 

"  4.  That,  consequently,  it  is  not  proper  to  use  it  in 
this  sense,  without  adding  the  word  '  wholly,  entirely,'  or 
the  like. 

"  5.  That  the  inspired  writers  almost  continually  speak 
of  or  to  those  who  were  justified  ;  but  very  rarely,  either 
of  or  to  those  who  were  wholly  sanctified. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


159 


"  6.  That,  consequently,  it  behoves  us  to  speak  in  pub- 
lic almost  continually  of  the  state  of  justification ;  but 
more  rarely,  at  least  in  full  and  explicit  terms,  concern- 
ing entire  sanctification. 

"  Q.  3.  What  then  is  the  point  wherein  we  divide  1 

"  A.  It  is  this  :  whether  we  should  expect  to  be  saved 
from  all  sin,  before  the  article  of  death. 

"  Q.  4.  Is  there  any  clear  Scripture  promise  of  this  ? 
that  God  will  save  iis  from  rf7Z  sin  1 

"  A.  There  is :  Psalm  cxxx.  8,  '  He  shall  redeem  Israel 
from  all  his  sins.' 

"  This  is  more  largely  expressed  in  the  prophecy  of 
Ezekiel :  '  Then  will  I  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and 
you  shall  be  clean ;  from  all  your  filthiness  and  from  all 
your  idols  will  I  cleanse  you.  I  will  also  save  you  from 
all  your  unclcannesses :'  chap,  xxxvi.  25,  29.  No  promise 
can  be  more  clear.  And  to  this  the  apostle  plainly  refers 
in  that  exhortation,  '  Having  these  promises,  let  us  cleanse 
ourselves  from  all  filthiness  of  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting 
holiness  in  the  fear  of  God.'  2  Cor.  vii.  1. — Equally  clear 
and  express  is  that  ancient  promise,  '  The  Lord  thy  God 
will  circumcise  thine  heart,  and  the  heart  of  thy  seed,  to 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul.'  Deut.  XXX.  6. 

"  Q.  5.  But  does  any  assertiu?t  answerable  to  this,  occur 
in  the  New  Testament  ? 

"  A.  There  does,  and  that  laid  down  in  the  plainest 
terms.  So  St.  John  iii.  8,  '  For  this  purpose  the  Son  of 
God  was  manifested,  that  he  might  destroy  the  works  of 
the  devil ;'  the  works  of  the  devil,  without  any  limitation 
or  restriction  ;  but  all  sin  is  the  work  of  the  devil.  Paral- 
lel to  which  is  that  assertion  of  St.  Paul  Eph.  v.  25,  27, 
'  Christ  loved  the  church,  and  gave  hmiself  for  it — that  he 
might  present  it  to  himself  a  glorious  church,  not  having 
spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing,  but  that  it  should  be 
holy  and  without  blemish.' 

"  And  to  the  same  effect  is  his  assertion  in  the  eighth 
of  Romans,  (verses  3,  4,)  '  God  sent  his  Son — that  the 
righteousness  of  the  law  might  be  fulfilled  in  us,  walking 
not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit. 


160 


LIFE  01'  WESLEY. 


"  Q.  6.  Does  the  New  Testament  afford  any  farther 
ground  for  expecting  to  be  saved  from  all  sin  ? 

"  A.  Undoubtedly  it  does,  Iwth  in  those  prayers  and 
commands  which  are  equivalent  to  the  strongest  asser- 
tions. 

"  Q.  7.  What  prayers  do  you  mean  1 

"  A.  Prayers  for  entire  sanctification ;  which,  were  there 
no  such  thing,  would  be  mere  mockery  of  God.  Such  in 
particular  are,  I.  'Deliver  us  from  evil;'  or  rather,  'from 
the  evil  one.'  Now  when  this  is  done,  when  we  are  de- 
livered from  all  evil,  there  can  be  no  sin  remaining. — 2. 
'  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them  also  which 
shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word  ;  that  they  all  may 
be  one,  as  thou  Father  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee ;  that  they 
also  may  be  one  in  us :  I  in  them  and  thou  in  me,  that  they 
maybe  made  perfect  in  one.'  John  xvii.  20,  21,  28. — 3. 
'  I  bow  my  knees  unto  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ — that  he  would  grant  you — that  ye,  being 
rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to  comprehend 
with  all  saints,  what  is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and  height, 
and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ  which  passeth  knowledge, 
that  ye  might  be  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God,'  Eph. 
iii.  14,  16 — 19. — 4.  '  The  very  God  of  peace  sanctify  you 
wholly.  And  I  pray  God,  your  whole  spirit,  soul,  and 
body,  be  preserved  blameless,  unto  the  coming  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,'  1  Thess.  v.  23. 

"  Q.  8.  What  command  is  there  to  the  same  effect  ? 

"A.  1.  'Be  ye  perfect,  as  your  Father  which  is  in  hea- 
ven is  perfect.'  Matt.  vi.  ult. 

"  2.  '  Thou  Shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,'  Matt, 
xxii.  37.  But  if  the  love  of  God  fill  all  the  heart,  there 
can  be  no  sin  there. 

"  Q.  9.  But  how  does  it  appear,  that  this  is  to  be  done 
before  the  article  of  death  ? 

"  A.  First,  from  the  very  nature  of  a  command,  which 
is  not  given  to  the  dead,  but  to  the  living. 

"  Therefore,  '  Thou  shalt  love  God  with  all  thy  heart,' 
cannot  mean.  Thou  shalt  do  this  when  thou  diest,  but 
while  thou  livest. 

"  Secondly,  from  express  texts  of  Scripture  : — 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


161 


"  1.  '  The  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  salvation  hath 
appeared  to  all  men ;  teaching  us,  that  having  renounced 
(df)n)ffu/i£»oi)  ungodliness  and  Avorldly  lusts,  we  should  live 
soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present  world : 
looking  for — the  glorious  appearing  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem 
us  from  all  iniquity  ;  and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar 
people,  zealous  of  good  works,"  Tit.  ii.  11 — 14. 

"  2.  '  He  hath  raised  up  an  horn  of  salvation  for  us — 
to  perform  the  mercies  promised  to  our  fathers :  the  oath 
which  he  sware  to  our  father  Abraham,  that  he  would 
grant  unto  us,  that  we,  being  delivered  out  of  the  hands 
of  our  enemies,  should  serve  him  without  fear,  in  holiness 
and  righteousness  before  him,  all  the  days  of  our  life,' 
Luke  i.  69,  &c. 

"  Q.  16.  Does  not  the  harshly  preaching  perfection, 
tend  to  bring  believers  into  a  kind  of  bondage  or  slavish 
fear  ? 

"  A.  It  does.  Therefore  we  should  always  place  it  in 
the  most  amiable  light,  so  that  it  may  excite  only  hope, 
joy,  and  desire. 

"  Q.  17.  Why  may  we  not  continue  in  the  joy  of  faith, 
even  till  we  are  made  perfect  ? 

"  A.  Why  indeed  ?  since  holy  grief  does  not  quench 
this  joy :  since,  even  while  we  are  under  the  cross,  while 
we  deeply  partake  of  the  suflerings  of  Christ,  we  may  re- 
joice with  joy  unspeakable.  . 

"  Q.  18.  Do  we  not  discourage  believers  from  rejoicing 
evermore  ? 

"  A.  We  ought  not  so  to  do.  Let  them,  all  their  life 
long,  rejoice  unto  God,  so  it  be  with  reverence.  And 
even  if  lightness  or  pride  should  mix  with  their  joy,  let 
us  not  strike  at  the  joy  itself,  (this  is  the  gift  of  God,)  but 
at  that  lightness  or  pride,  that  the  evil  may  cease,  and  the 
good  remain. 

"  Q.  20.  But  ought  we  not  to  be  troubled  on  account  of 
the  sinful  nature  which  still  remains  in  us  ? 

"  A.  It  is  good  for  us  to  have  a  deep  sense  of  this,  and 
to  be  much  ashamed  before  the  Lord.  But  this  should 
only  incite  us  the  more  earnestly  to  turn  unto  Christ  every 
15 


162 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


moment,  and  to  draw  light,  and  life,  and  strength  from 
him,  that  we  may  go  on,  conquering  and  to  conquer. 
And  therefore,  when  the  sense  of  our  sin  most  abounds, 
the  sense  of  liis  love  should  much  more  abound." 

The  doctrine  of  assurance,  and  the  source  of  it,  the 
testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the  Spirit  of  adoption, 
are  frequently  referred  to  in  ihese  early  doctrinal  coa- 
versations.  This  however  is  more  fully  stated  in  Mr. 
Wesley's  sermons,  and  the  following  extracts  will  be  ne- 
cessary to  present  his  views  on  this  subject  in  their  true 
light  :— 

"  But  what  is  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  ?  The  original 
word  faprvpia,  may  be  rendered  either,  (as  it  is  in  seve- 
ral places,)  the  witness,  or,  less  ambiguously,  the  testimo- 
ny, or  the  record:  so  it  is  rendered  in  our  translation, 
1  John  V.  11,  'This  is  the  record,'  the  testimony,  the 
sum  of  what  God  testifies  in  all  the  inspired  writings, 
'  that  God  hath  given  unto  us  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is 
in  his  Son.'  The  testimony  now  under  consideration  is 
given  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  and  with  our  spirit.  He 
is  the  person  testifying.  What  he  testifies  to  us  is,  '  that 
we  are  the  children  of  God.'  The  immediate  result  of 
this  testimony,  is,  '  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit ;'  namely, '  love, 
joy,  peace ;  long-suflfering,  gentleness,  goodness.'  And 
without  these,  the  testimony  itself  cannot  continue.  For, 
it  is  inevitably  destroyed,  not  only  by  the  commission  of 
any  outward  sin,  or  the  omission  of  known  duty,  but  by 
giving  way  to  any  inward  sin :  in  a  word,  by  whatever 
grieves  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 

"  2.  I  observed  many  years  ago, '  It  is  hard  to  find  words 
in  the  language  of  men,  to  explain  the  deep  things  of  God. 
Indeed  there  are  none  that  will  adequately  express  what 
the  Spirit  of  God  works  in  his  children.  But,  perhaps, 
one  might  say,  (desiring  any  who  are  taught  of  God  to 
correct,  soften,  or  strengthen  the  expression,)  By  the  '  testi- 
mony of  the  Spirit'  I  mean,  an  inward  impression  on  the 
soul,  whereby  the  Spirit  of  God  immediately  and  directly 
witnesses  to  my  spirit,  that  I  aih  a  child  of  God ;  that 
'  Jesus  Christ  hath  loved  me,  and'  given  himself  for  me 
that  all  my  sins  are  blotted  out,  and  I,  even  I,  am  reconci- 
led to  God. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


163 


"  3.  After  twenty  years'  farther  consideration,  I  see^o 
cause  to  retract  any  part  of  this.  Neither  do  I  conceive 
how  any  of  these  expressions  may  be  altered,  so  as  to 
make  them  more  intelligible.  I  can  only  add,  that  if  any 
of  the  children  of  God  will  point  out  any  other  expressions 
which  are  more  clear,  or  more  agreeable  to  the  word  of 
God,  I  will  readily  lay  these  aside. 

"  4.  Meantime  let  it  be  observed,  I  do  not  mean  hereby, 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  testifies  this  by  any  outward  voice : 
no,  nor  always  by  an  inward  voice,  although  he  may  do 
this  sometimes.  Neither  do  I  suppose,  that  he  always 
applies  to  tlie  heart  (though  he  often  may)  one  or  more 
texts  of  Scripture.  But  he  so  worlis  upon  the  soul  by  his 
immediate  influence,  and  by  a  strong,  though  inexplicable 
operation,  that  the  stormy  Avind  and  troubled  waves  sub- 
side, and  there  is  a'sweet  calm  :  the  heart  resting  as  in  the 
arms  of  Jesus,  and  the  sinner  being  clearly  satisfied  that 
all  his  '  iniquities  are  forgiven,  and  his  sins  covered.' 

"  5.  Now  what  is  the  matter  of  dispute  concerning  this  1 
Not,  whether  there  be  a  witness  or  testimony  of  the  Spirit. 
Not,  whether  the  Spirit  does  testify  witli  our  spirit,  that 
we  are  the  children  of  God.  None  can  deny  this,  without 
flatly  contradicting  the  Scriptures,  and  charging  a  lie  upon 
the  God  of  truth.  Therefore  that  there  is  a  testimony  of 
the  Spirit,  is  acknowledged  by  all  parties. 

"  6.  Neither  is  it  questioned,  whether  there  is  an  indi- 
rect witness  or  testimony,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God. 
This  is  nearly,  if  not  exactly,  the  same  with  '  the  testimony 
of  a  good  conscience  towards  God ;'  and  is  the  result  of 
reason,  or  reflection  on  what  we  feel  in  our  own  souls. 
Strictly  speaking,  it  is  a  conclusion  drawn  partly  from  the 
word  of  God,  and  partly  from  our  own  experience.  The 
word  of  God  sa3"s,  Every  one  who  has  the  fruit  of  the 
Spirit  is  a  child  of  God.  Experience  or  inward  conscious- 
ness tells  me,  that  I  have  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit ;  and  hence 
I  rationally  conclude,  therefore  I  am  a  child  of  God.  This 
is  likewise  allowed  on  all  hands,  and  so  is  no  matter  of 
controversy. 

"  7.  Nor  do  we  assert,  that  there  can  be  any  real  tes- 
timony of  the  Spirit,  without  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit.  We 
assert,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  imme 


164 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


diately  springs  from  this  testimony;  not  always  indeed  in 
the  same  degree  even  when  the  testimony  is  first  given ; 
and  much  less  afterwards :  neither  joy  nor  peace  is  always 
at  one  stay.  No,  nor  love :  as  neither  is  the  testimony 
itself  always  equally  strong  and  clear. 

"  8.  But  the  point  in  question  is,  whether  there  be  any 
direct  teslimony  of  the  Spirit  at  all ;  whether  tliere  be  any 
other  testimony  of  the  Spirit,  than  that  Avhich  arises  from 
a  consciousness  of  the  fruit. 

"  1.  I  believe  there  is,  because  that  is  the  plain,  natu- 
ral meaning  of  the  text,  '  the  Spirit  itself  bearelh  witness 
with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God.'  It  is 
manifest,  here  are  two  witnesses  mentioned,  who  together 
testify  the  same  thing,  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  oui  own 
spirit. 

The  late  bishop  of  London,  in  his  sermon  on  this 
text,  seems  astonished  that  any  one  can  doubt  of  this, 
Avhich  appears  upon  the  very  face  of  the  words.  Now 
'  the  testimony  of  our  own  spirit,  (says  the  bishop,)  is  one, 
which  is  the  consciousness  of  our  own  sincerity ;'  or  to 
express  the  same  thing  a  little  more  clearly,  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit.  When  our  spirit  is  con- 
scious of  this,  of  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentle- 
ness, goodness,  it  easily  infers  from  these  premises,  that 
we  are  the  children  of  God. 

"  2.  It  is  true,  tliat  great  man  supposes  the  other  wit- 
ness to  be  '  the  consciousness  of  our  own  good  works.' 
This,  he  affirms,  is  '  the  testimony  of  God's  Spirit.'  But 
this  is  included  in  the  testimony  of  our  own  spirit :  Yea, 
and  in  sincerity,  even  according  to  the  common  sense  of 
the  word.  So  the  apostle,  '  Our  rejoicing  is  this,  the  tes- 
timony of  our  conscience,  that  in  simplicity  and  godly 
sincerity  we  have  our  conversation  in  the  Avorld  :'  where 
it  is  plain,  sincerity  refers  to  our  words  and  actions,  at 
least  as  much  as  to  our  inward  disposiiions.  So  that  this 
is  not  another  witness,  but  the  very  same  that  he  men- 
tioned before:  the  consciousness  of  our  good  works  being 
only  one  branch  of  the  consciousness  of  our  sincerity.  | 
Consequently  here  is  only  one  witness  still.  If  therefore 
the  text  speaks  of  two  witnesses,  one  of  these  is  not  the 
consciousness  of  our  good  works,  neither  of  our  sincerity : 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


165 


all  this  being  manifestly  contained  in  '  the  testimony  of 
onr  spirit.' 

"  3.  What  then  is  the  other  witness  ?  This  might 
easily  be  learned,  if  the  text  itself  were  not  sufficiently 
clear,  from  the  verse  immediately  preceding.  '  Ye  have 
received,  not  the  spirit  of  bondage,  but  the  Spirit  of  adop- 
tion, whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father.'  It  follows,  '  The 
Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  onr  spirit,  that  we  are 
the  children  of  God.' 

"  4.  This  is  farther  explained  by  the  parallel  text.  Gal. 
iv.  6 :  '  Because  ye  are  sons,  God  hath  sent  forth  the 
Spirit  of  his  Son  into  your  hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father.' 
Is  not  this  something  immediate  and  direct,  not  the  result 
of  reflection  or  argumentation  1  Does  not  this  Spirit  crj^, 
'  Abba,  Father,'  in  our  hearts,  the  moment  it  is  given  ? 
antecedently  to  any  reflection  upon  our  sincerity,  yea,  to 
any  reasoning  whatsoever?  And  is  not  this  the  plain, 
natural  sense  of  the  words,  Avhich  strikes  any  one  as 
soon  as  he  hears  them  ?  All  these  texts  then,  in  their 
most  obvious  meaning,  describe  a  direct  testimony  of  the 
Spirit. 

"  5.  That  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit  of  God  must,  in  the 
very  nature  of  things,  be  antecedent  to  the  testimony  of 
our  own  spirit,  may  appear  from  this  single  consideration. 
We  must  be  holy  in  heart  and  life,  before  we  can  be  con- 
scious that  we  are  so.  But  we  must  love  God  before  we 
can  be  holy  at  all,  this  being  the  root  of  all  holiness.  Now 
we  cannot  love  God,  till  we  know  he  loves  us :  '  we  love 
him  because  he  first  loved  us.'  And  Ave  cannot  know  his 
love  to  lis,  till  his  Spirit  witnesses  it  to  our  spirit.  Since 
therefore  the  testimony  of  his  Spirit  must  precede  the  love 
of  God  and  all  holiness,  of  consequence  it  must  precede 
our  consciousness  thereof." 

A  doctrine  so  often  misrepresented  and  misunderstood 
could  not  be  so  pioperly  stated,  as  in  Mr.  Wesley's  own 
words ;  and  as  many,  and  those  even  professing  to  be 
sober  Christians,  have,  principally  with  reference  to  this 
doctrine,  frequently  opened  upon  this  venerable  man  the 
full  cry  of  enthusiasm  and  fanatical  delusion,  it  may  be 
proper  to  add  a  few  explanatory  and  defensive  remarks, 
and  that  not  merely  for  the  sake  of  justice  to  his  opinions, 
15* 


166 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


but  in  support  of  a  great  doctrine  of  revelation,  most  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  hope  and  comfort  of  man. 

And,  1.  The  doctrine  of  assurance  as  held  by  the  found- 
er of  Methodism  was  not  the  assurance  of  the  eternal 
salvation  as  held  by  Calvinistic  divines  ;  but  that  persua- 
sion which  is  given  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  penitent  and 
believing  persons,  that  they  are  "  now  accepted  of  God, 
pardoned  and  adopted  into  God's  family."  It  was  an  as- 
surance, therefore,  on  the  ground  of  which  no  relaxation 
of  religious  effort  could  be  pleaded,  and  no  unwatch- 
fulness  of  spirit  or  irregularity  of  life  allowed :  for  he 
taught,  that  only  by  the  lively  exercise  of  the  same  hum- 
ble and  obedient  faith  in  the  merits  and  intercession  of 
Christ,  this  state  of  mind  could  be  maintained,  and  it 
was  made  by  him  a  motive  (influential  as  our  desire  of 
inward  peace  can  be  influential)  to  vigilance  and  obe- 
dience. 

2.  This  doctrine  cannot  be  denied  without  disconnect- 
ing religion  from  peace  of  mind,  and  habitual  consolation. 
For  if  it  is  the  doctrine  of  the  inspired  records,  and  of  all 
orthodox  cliurches,  that  man  is  by  nature  prone  to  evil, 
and  that  in  practice  he  violates  that  law  under  which  as  a 
creature  he  is  placed,  and  is  thereby  exposed  to  punish- 
ment ; — if  also  it  is  tliere  staled,  that  an  act  of  grace  and 
pardon  is  promised  on  the  conditions  of  repentance  to- 
wards God,  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ; — if  that 
repentance  implies  consideration  of  our  ways,  a  sense  of 
the  displeasure  of  Almighty  God,  contrition  of  heart,  and 
consequently  trouble  and  grief  of  mind,  mixed,  however, 
M'ith  hope,  inspired  by  the  promise  of  forgiveness,  and 
which  leads  to  earnest  supplication  for  the  actual  pardon 
of  sin  so  promised,  it  will  follow  from  these  premises, 
either,  that  forgiveness  is  not  to  be  expected  till  after  the 
termination  of  our  course  of  probation,  that  is,  in  another 
life ;  and  that,  therefore,  this  trouble  and  apprehension  of 
mind  can  only  be  assuaged  by  the  hope  we  may  have  of 
a  favourable  final  decision  on  our  case  ; — or,  that  sin  is,  in 
the  present  life,  forgiven  as  often  as  it  is  thus  repented  of, 
and  as  often  as  we  exercise  the  required  and  specific  acts 
of  trust  in  the  merits  of  our  Saviour ;  but  that  this  for- 
giveness of  our  sins  is  not  in  any  way  made  known  unto 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


167 


us :  so  that  we  are  left,  as  to  our  feelings,  in  precisely 
the  same  state  as  if  sin  were  not  forgiven  till  after  death, 
namely,  in  grief  and  trouble  of  mind,  relieved  only  by 
hope; — or,  that  when  sin  is  forgiven  by  the  mercy  of 
God  through  Christ,  Ave  are,  by  some  means,  assured  of 
it,  and  peace  and  satisfaction  of  mind  take  the  place  of 
anxiety  and  fear. 

The  first  of  these  conclusions  is  sufficiently  disproved 
by  the  authority  of  Scripture,  which  exhibits  justification 
as  a  blessing  attainable  in  this  life,  and  represents  it  as 
actually  experienced  by  true  believers.  "  Therefore  being 
justified  by  faith,"  &c.  "  There  is  noxo  no  condemnation  to 
them  who  are  in  Christ  Jesus."  "  Whosoever  believeth 
is  justified  from  all  things,"  &c.  The  quotations  might 
be  multiplied,  but  tliese  are  decisive.  The  notion,  that 
though  an  act  of  forgiveness  may  take  place,  we  are  un- 
able to  ascertain  a  fact  so  important  to  us,  is  also  irrecon- 
cilable with  many  texts  in  which  the  writers  of  the  New 
Testament  speak  of  an  experience,  not  confined  person- 
ally to  themselves,  or  to  those  Christians  who  were  en- 
dowed with  spiritual  gifts,  but  common  to  all  Christians. 
"  Being  justified  by  faith  we  have  peace  with  God."  "We 
joy  in  God,  by  whom  we  have  received  the  reconcilia- 
tion." "  Being  reconciled  unto  God,  by  the  death  of  his 
Son."  "  We  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage 
again  unto  fear,  but  the  Spirit  of  adoption  whereby  we 
cry,  Abba,  Father."  To  these  may  be  added  innumerable 
passages  which  express  the  comfort,  the  confidence,  and 
the  joy  of  Christians  ;  their  "  friendship"  with  God ;  their 
"  access"  to  him ;  their  entire  union  and  delightful  inter- 
course with  him;  and  their  absolute  confidence  in  the 
success  of  their  prayers.  All  such  passages  are  perfectly 
consistent  with  deep  humility,  and  self-dirfidence ;  but  they 
are  irreconcilable  with  a  state  of  hostility  between  the 
parties,  and  with  an  unascertained,  and  only  hoped-for, 
restoration  of  friendship  and  favour. 

3.  The  services  of  the  church  of  which  Mr.  Wesley 
was  a  minister,  may  be  pleaded  also  in  support  of  his 
opinions  on  this  subject.  Those  services,  though,  with 
propriety,  as  being  designed  for  the  use  not  of  true 
Christians  only,  but  of  mixed  congregations,  they  abound 


168 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


in  acts  of  confession,  and  the  expressions  of  spiritual 
grief,  exhibit  also  this  confidence  and  peace,  as  objects  of 
earnest  desire  and  hopeful  anticipation,  and  as  blessings 
attainable  in  the  present  life.  We  pray  to  be  made  "  chil- 
dren by  adoption  and  grace  ;"  to  be  "  relieved  from  the 
fear  of  punishment  by  the  comfort  of  God's  grace  ;"  not 
to  be  "  left  comfortless,  but  that  God,  the  King  of  Glory, 
would  send  to  us  the  Holy  Ghost  to  comfort  us ;"  and 
that  by  the  same  Spirit  having  a  right  judgment  in  all 
tilings,  "  we  may  evermore  rejoice  in  his  holy  comfort." 
In  the  prayer  directed  to  be  used  for  one  troubled  in 
mind  or  in  conscience,  we  have  also  the  following  im- 
pressive petitions :  "  Break  not  the  bruised  reed,  nor 
quench  the  smoking  flax.  Shut  not  up  thy  tender  mer- 
cies in  displeasure,  but  make  him  to  hear  of  joy  and  glad- 
ness, that  the  bones  which  thou  hast  broken  may  rejoice. 
Deliver  him  from  the  fear  of  the  enemy,  and  lift  up  the 
light  of  thy  countenance  upon  him,  and  give  him  peace." 
Now  unless  it  be  contended,  that  by  these  petitions  we 
are  directed  to  seek  wlial  we  can  never  find,  and  always 
to  follow  that  which  we  can  never  overtake,  the  church, 
in  the  spirit  of  the  New  Testament,  assumes  that  the»for- 
giveness  of  sins,  and  the  relief  of  the  sorrows  of  the  peni- 
tent state,  are  attainable,  with  those  consequent  comforts 
and  joys  which  can  only  arise  from  some  assurance  of  mind, 
by  whatever  means  and  in  whatever  degree  commimica- 
ted,  that  we  have  a  personal  interest  in  the  general  pro- 
mise, and  that  toe  are  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of 
his  Son.  For  since  the  general  promise  is  made  to  many 
who  will  never  be  benefited  by  it,  it  cannot  of  itself  be 
the  ground  of  a  settled  religious  peace  of  mind.  As  it  is 
a  promise  of  blessings  to  be  individually  experienced, 
unless  I  can  have  personal  experience  of  them,  it  holds 
up  to  hope  what  can  never  come  into  fruition.* 

♦  "  Faith  is  not  merely  a  speculative  but  a  practical  acknowledg- 
ment of  Jesus  as  the  Christ, — an  effort  and  motion  of  the  mind 
towards  God :  when  the  sinner,  convinced  of  sin,  accepts  with 
thankfulness  the  proffered  terms  of  pardon,  and  in  humble  confi- 
dence applying  individually  to  liimself  the  benefit  of  the  general  atone- 
ment, in  the  elevated  languarre  of  a  venerable  father  of  the  church, 
drinks  of  the  stream  which  llows  from  the  Redeemer's  side.  The 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


169 


An  assurance,  therefore,  that  those  sins  which  -v^ere  felt 
to  "  be  a  burden  intolerable"  are  forgiven,  and  that  all 
ground  of  that  apprehension  of  future  punishment  which 
causes  the  penitent  to  "  bewail  his  manifold  sins"  is  re- 
moved by  restoration  to  the  favour  of  the  offended  God, 
must  be  allowed,  or  nothing  would  be  more  incongruous 
and  indeed  impossible  than  the  comfort,  tlie  peace,  the 
rejoicing  of  spirit,  which,  in  the  Scriptures,  are  attributed 
to  believers.  If,  indeed,  self-condemnation,  and  the  ap- 
prehension of  danger,  had  no  foundation  but  in  the  im- 
agination, the  case  would  be  totally  altered.  "Where  there 
is  no  danger,  deliverance  is  visionary;  and  the  joy  it  in- 
spires is  raving,  and  not  reason.  But  if  a  real  danger 
exists ;  and  if  we  cannot  escape  it  except  by  an  act  of 
grace  on  the  part  of  Almighty  God,  we  must  have  some 
evidence  of  his  gracious  interposition  in  our  case,  or  the 
guilty  gloom  will  abide  upon  us.  The  more  sincere  and 
earnest  a  person  is  in  the  affairs  of  his  salvation,  the  more 
miserable  he  must  become  if  there  be  no  possibility  of 
his  knowing  that  the  Avrath  of  God  no  longer  abideth 

effect  is,  that  in  a  little  he  is  filled  with  that  perfect  love  of  God  which 
casteth  out  fear,— he  cleaves  to  God  with  the  entire  affection  of  tlie 
soul.  And  from  this  active  lively  faith,  overcoming  the  world,  subdu- 
.ing  carnal  self,  all  those  good  works  do  necessarily  spring,  which  God 
hath  before  ordained  that  we  should  walk  in  them.'' — Bishop  Hors- 
ley's  Sermons. 

"  The  purchase,  therefore,  was  paid  at  once,  j'ct  must  be  severally 
reckoned  to  every  soul  whom  it  shall  benefit.  If  we  have  not  a  hand 
to  take  what  Christ's  hand  doth  ehhcr  hold  or  offer,  what  is  sufficient 
in  him  cannot  be  effectual  to  us.  The  spirituil  hand,  whereby  we 
apprehend  the  sweet  offer  of  our  Saviour,  is  faith,  which,  in  short,  is 
no  other  than  an  affiance  in  the  Mediator.  Receive  peace,  and  he 
happy  :  believe,  and  thou  hast  received.  Thus  it  is  that  we  have  an 
interest  in  all  that  God  hath  promised,  or  Christ  hath  performed. 
Thus  have  we  from  God  liolh  forgivor.ess  and  love,  the  ground  of 
all  whether  peace  or  glory.'' — Bishop  Hall's  ITearen  upon  Earth. 

"  It  is  the  property  of  saving  faith,  that  it  hath  a  force  to  ajjpropri- 
ate,  and  make  Christ  our  own.  Without  this,  a  general  remote  be- 
lief would  have  been  cold  comfort.  'He  loved  me,  and  gave  himself 
for  mc,'  saith  St.  Paul.  AVhat  sailh  St.  Chrysostom?  '  Did  Christ 
die  only  for  St.  Paul?  Ko.  .Von  crcludft,  sed  appropriat ;'  he  ex- 
cludes not  otlicrs,  but  he  will  secure  himself." — Bishop  Brownrigg's 
Sermon  on  Easter  Daij. 


170 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


upon  him  : — then  the  ways  of  wisdom  would  be  no  longer 
"  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  paths  of  peace." 

4.  Few  real  Christians  therefore  have  ever  denied  the 
possibility  of  our  becoming  so  persuaded  of  the  favour 
and  good-will  of  God  towards  us  as  to  produce  substantial 
comfort  to  the  mind;  but  they  nave  differed  in  opinion  as 
to  the  means  by  which  this  is  acquired.  Some  have  said 
that  we  obtain'  it  by  inference ;  others,  by  the  direct  in- 
ward testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  latter,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Wesley ;  but  he  never  failed 
to  connect  this  doctrine  with  another,  which  on  the  autho- 
rity of  St.  Paul,  he  calls  "  the  witness  of  our  oWn  spirit." 
— "  the  consciousness  of  having  received,  in  and  by  the 
Spirit  of  adoption,  the  tempers  mentioned  in  the  word  of 
God,  as  belonging  to  his  adopted  children — a  conscious- 
ness that  we  are  inwardly  conformed,  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  to  the  image  of  his  Son,  and  that  we  walk  before 
him  in  justice,  mercy,  and  truth,  doing  the  things  which 
are  pleasing  in  his  sight."  Tliese  two  testimonies  he 
never  put  asundei",  although  he  assigned  them  distinct 
offices;  and  this  cannot  be  ov^jrlooked  if  justice  be  done 
to  his  opinions.  In  order  to  prevent  presumption,  he  re- 
minds his  readers  that  the  direct  testimony  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  subsequent  to  true  repentance  and  faith ;  and  on 
the  other  hand,  to  guard  against  delusion,  he  asks,  "  How 
am  I  assured  that  I  do  not  mistake  the  voice  of  the  Spirit? 
Even  by  the  testimony  of  ray  own  spirit,  '  by  the  answer 
of  a  good  conscience  towards  God:'  Hereby  you  shall 
know  that  you  are  in  no  delusion,  that  you  have  not  de- 
ceived your  own  soul.  The  immediate  fruits  of  the  Spirit 
ruling  in  the  heart  are  love,  joy,  peace,  bowels  of  mercies, 
humbleness  of  mind,  meekness,  gentleness,  long-suffering. 
And  the  outward  fruits  arc  the  doing  good  to  all  men, 
and  a  imiform  obedience  to  all  the  commands  of  God." 
Where  then  is  the  enthusiasm  of  the  doctrine  as  thus  sta- 
ted ?  An  enthusiastic  doctrine  is  unsupported  by  the  sa- 
cred records;  but  in  confirmation  of  this  we  read,  "  The 
Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are 
the  children  of  God."  Here  the  witnesses  are  the  Spirit 
of  God,  and  our  own  spirit;  and  the  fact,  to  which  the 
testimony  is  given,  is,  tliat  "  we  are  the  children  of  God." 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


in 


— "And  because  ye  are  sons,  God  hath  sent  forth  the 
Spirit  of  his  Son  into  your  hearts,  crying,  Abba,  Father  !" 
To  these  passages  may  be  added  all  those  texts  which 
speak  of  the  inward  intercourse  of  the  Spirit  of  God  with 
believers ;  of  his  dwelling  in  them,  and  abiding  with  them 
as  the  source  of  comfort  and  peace  ;  and  which,  therefore, 
imply  the  doctrine.  Nor  can  such  passages  be  interpreted 
otherwise  than  as  teaching  the  doctrine  of  assurance,  con- 
veyed immediately  to  the  mind  of  true  believers  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  without  allowing  such  principles  of  construc- 
tion as  would  render  the  sense  of  Scripture  uncertain, 
and  unsettle  the  evidence  of  some  of  the  most  important 
doctrines  of  our  religion. 

It  is  tiue  taat  a  more  '-'sober"  and  "less  dangerous" 
method,  as  it  has  been  called,  of  obtaining  a  comfortable 
assurance  of  our  justification  before  God  has  been  in- 
sisted upon  as  equally  consistent  with  the  word  of  God  ; 
but,  upon  examination,  it  will  be  found  delusive.  This 
is  what  is  termed  a  process  of  inference,  and  is  thus 
explained.  The  question  at  issue  is,  Am  I  a  child  of 
God?"  The  Scriptures  declare  that  "as  many  as  are  led 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  are  the  sons  of  God."  I  inquire, 
then,  whether  I  have  the  Spirit  of  God ;  and,  in  order  to 
determine  this,  I  examine  whether  I  have  "  the  fruits  of 
the  Spirit."  Now  "  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  are  love,  joy, 
peace,  gentleness,  goodness,  meekness,  faith,  temperance 
and  having  sufficient  evidence  of  the  existence  of  these 
fruits,  I  conclude  that  I  have  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  am, 
therefore,  a  pardoned  and  accepted  child  of  God.  This 
is  the  statement.  But  among  these  enumerated  fruits  of 
the  Spirit  we  find  love,  joy,  and  peace,  as  well  as  gen- 
tleness, goodness,  meekness,  fidelity,  and  temperance; 
and  if  it  be  said  that  no  man  has  a  right  to  assume  that 
"he  is  so  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,"  as  to  conclude,  that 
he  is  a  child  of  God,  who  lias  only  the  affections  of 
"peace  and  joy"  to  gro\md  his  confidence  upon,  we  have 
as  good  a  reason  to  affirm  the  same  thing,  if  he  has 
"  meekness  and  temperance,"  without  "  love,  and  peace, 
and  joy;" — the  love,  the  peace,  and  the  joy,  being  as 
much  fruits  of  tlie  Spirit  as  the  moral  qualities  also 
enumerated. 


172 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


But  can  "love,"  love  to  God  as  our  Father;  "peace," 
peace  with  God,  as  in  a  state  of  friendship  with  us ;  and 
"joy,"  "joy  in  God  by  whom  we  have  received  the  re- 
conciliaiio7i,"  exist  at  all  without  a  previous  or  concomi- 
tant assurance  of  the  divine  forgiveness  and  favour? 
Surely  nothing  is  so  clear,  that  it  is  not  possible  to  love 
God  as  a  father  and  a  friend,  Avhilst  he  is  still  regarded 
as  an  offended  sovereign  and  a  vengeful  judge;  and  that 
to  feel  a  sense  of  his  displeasure,  and  to  be  at  "  peace" 
with  him,  and  to  rejoice  in  him,  are  contradictions :  and 
if  so,  the  very  ground  of  this  inference,  that  we  are  in 
the  divine  favour,  and  adopted  into  his  family,  is  taken 
away.  This  whole  inferential  process  proceeds  upon 
dividing  the  undivided  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  for  which  we 
have  assuredly  no  authority;  nor  indeed  have  we  any 
reason  to  conclude  that  we  have  ihat  gentleness,  that 
goodness,  thai  meekness,  &c.,  which  the  apostle  describes, 
should  the  "  love,  joy,  and  peace,"  which  he  places  among 
the  leading  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  be  wanting.  If  then  tho 
whole  undivided  fruit  of  the  Spirit  be  taken  as  the  medi 
urn  of  ascertaining  the  fact  of  our  forgiveness  and  adop 
tion,  and  if  it  is  even  absurd  to  suppose  that  we  can  love 
God,  whilst  yet  we  feel  him  to  be  angry  with  us ;  and 
that  we  can  rejoice  and  have  peace,  whilst  the  fearful 
apprehensions  of  the  consequences  of  unremitted  sin  are 
not  removed  from  our  minds,  then  the  only  ground  of 
our  "  love,  joy,  and  peace,"  is  pardon',  revealed  and  wit- 
nessed, directly  and  immediately,  by  the  Spirit  of  adop- 
tion.* 

*  The  precedence  of  the  direct  witness  of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  the 
indirect  witness  of  our  own,  and  the  dependance  of  the  latter  upon 
the  former,  are  very  clearly  stated  by  three  divines  of  great  autho- 
rity; to  whom  I  refer  the  rather,  because  many  of  their  followers  of 
the  present  day  have  become  very  obscure  in  their  statements  of  this 
branch'  of  Christian  experience : — 

"  St.  Paul  means  that  the  Spirit  of  God  gives  such  a  testimony  to 
us,  that  he  being  our  guide  and  teacher,  our  spirit  concludes  our 
adoption  of  God  to  be  certiiin.  For  our  own  mind,  of  itself,  inde- 
pendent of  the  preceding  testimony  of  the  Spirit,  [visi  prccevnte 
Spiritus  testimonio,]  could  not  produce  this  persuasion  in  us.  For 
whilst  the  Spirit  witnesses  that  we  are  the  sons  of  God,  he  at  the 
same  time  inspires  this  confidence  into  our  minds,  that  we  are  bold 
to  call  God  our  Father.'' — Calvin  on  Romans  viii.  16. 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


The  mind  of  Mr.  Wesley  was  also  too  discriminating  not 
to  perceive,  that,  in  the  scheme  of  attaining  assurance  by 
inference  from  moral  clianges  only,  there  was  a  total  neg- 
lect of  the  offices  explicitly  ascribed  to  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  New  Testament,  and  which,  on  this  scheme,  are 
unnecessary.  These  are  clearly  stated  to  be  that  of 
"  bearing  witness"  with  the  spirits  of  believers,  that  they 
are  the  children  of  God  ;  that  of  the  Spirit  of  adoption, 
by  which  they  call  God  Father,  in  the  special  sense  in 
which  it  is  correlative  to  that  sonship  which  we  obtain  only 
by  a  justifying  faith  in  Christ ;  and  that  of  a  Comforter^ 
promised  to  the  disciples  to  abide  with  them  "for  ever," 
that  their  "  joy  might  be  full." 

Enough  has  been  said  on  this  subject  to  show  that  Mr. 
Wesley,  on  this  doctrine  was  neither  rash  nor  inconsider- 
ate, much  less  enthusiastic.  It  is  grounded  on  no  forced, 
no  fanciful  interpretation  of  Scripture  ;  and  it  maintains, 
as  of  possible  attainment  one  of  the  most  important  and 
richest  comforts  of  the  human  mind.  It  leaves  no  doubt 
as  to  a  question  which,  whilst  problematical,  must,  if  we 
are  earnest  in  seeking  our  salvation,  be  fatal  to  our  peace ; 
it  supposes  an  intercourse  between  God  and  the  minds  of 

"Romans  viii.  16.  'The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  out' 
spirits  that  we  are  the  sons  of  God:'  The  witness  which  our  own 
spirits  do  give  unto  our  adoption  is  the  work  and  effect  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  us;  if  it  were  not,  it  would  be  false,  and  not  confirmed  by 
the  testimony  of  the  Spirit  himself,  who  is  the  Spirit  of  truth.  '  And 
none  knoweth  the  things  of  God  but  the  Spirit  of  God.'  1  Cor; 
ii.  11.  If  he  declare  not  our  sonship  in  us  and  to  us,  we  cannot 
know  it.  How  doth  he  then  bear  witness  to  our  spirits'?  What  is 
the  distinct  testimony  1  It  must  be  some  such  act  of  his  as  evi- 
denceth  itself  to  be  from  liim,  immediately,  unto  tliem  that  are  con- 
cerned in  it,  that  is,  those  unto  whom  it  is  given,"— Dh.  Owen  oil 
the  Spirit,  sect.  9. 

"  The  Spirit  of  adoption  doth  not  only  excite  us  to  call  upon 
God  as  our  Father,  but  it  doth  ascertain  and  assure  us,  as  before, 
that  we  arc  his  children.  And  this  it  doth  not  by  an  outward 
voice,  as  God  the  Father  to  Jesus  Christ,  nor  by  an  angel,  as  to 
Daniel  and  the  Virgin  Mary,  but  by  an  inward  and  secret  sugges- 
tion, whereby  he  raiseth  our  hearts  to  this  persuasion,  that  God  is 
our  Father,  and  We  are  his  children.  This  is  not  the  testimony  of 
ike  graces  and  operations  of  the  Spirit,  but  of  the  Spirit  itself."-^ 
Poole  on  Romans  viii.  16. 


16 


174 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


good  men,  which  is,  surely  in  the  full  and  genuine  spirit 
of  the  Christian  religion,  eminently  called  the  "  ministra- 
tion of  the  Spirit  ;"  and  it  is,  as  taught  by  him.  vitally 
connected  with  sober,  practical  piety.  That,  like  the 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone,  it  is  capable  of 
abuse,  is  very  true.  Many  have  perverted  both  the  one 
and  the  other.  Faith  with  some  has  been  made  a  dis- 
charge from  duty  ;  and  with  respect  to  the  direct  witness 
of  the  Spirit,  fancy  has  no  doubt  been  taken,  in  some  in- 
stances, for  reality.  But  this  could  never  legitimately 
follow  from  the  holy  preaching  of  the  founder  of  Meth- 
odism. 

His  view  of  the  doctrine  is  so  opposed  to  license 
and  real  enthusiasm,  to  pride  and  self-sufficiency,  that  it 
can  only  be  made  to  encourage  tliem  by  so  manifest  a 
perversion,  that  it  has  never  occurred  except  among  those 
most  ignorant  of  his  writings.  He  never  encouraged  any 
to  expect  thir-  grace  but  the  truly  penitent,  and  he  pre- 
scribed to  them  "  fruits  m.eet  for  repentance."  He  be- 
lieved that  justification  was  always  accompanied  by  a 
renewal  of  the  heart,  and  as  constantly  taught,  that  the 
comfort  "  of  the  Holy  Ghost"  could  remain  the  portion 
only  of  the  humble  and  spiritual,  and  was  uniformly  and 
exclusively  connected  with  a  sanctifying  and  obedient 
faith.  He  saw  that  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  were  "  love, 
joy,  peace,"  as  well  as  "  gentleness,  goodness,  meekness, 
and  faith;"  but  he  also  taught  tliat  all  who  were  not 
living  under  tlie  constant  influence  of  the  latter  would 
fatally  deceive  themselves  by  any  pretensions  to  the 
former. 

Such  were  the  views  of  the  first  Methodists,  on  these 
important  points,  and  such  are  the  unchanged  opinions  of 
their  successors  to  this  day.  They  may  be  called  pccM- 
liarities,  because  they  differed  in  some  respects  from  the 
same  doctrines  of  justification,  faith,  assurance,  and  sanc- 
tification,  when  associated  with  various  modifications  of 
Calvinism  ;  and  although  somewhat  similar  doctrines  are 
found  in  many  Arminian  writers,  yet  in  the  theology  of 
the  Wesleys  they  derive  life  and  vigour  from  the  stronger 
views  of  the  grace  of  God  which  were  taught  them  by 
their  Morrvian  and  Calvinistic  brethren. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


175 


No  man  more  honestly  sought  truth  than  Mr.  Wesley, 
and  none  more  rigidly  tried  all  systems  by  the  law  and 
the  testimony.  As  to  authority  he  was  "  a  man  of  one 
book ;"  and  whatever  may  be  thought  peculiar  in  his 
views,  he  drew  from  that  source  by  the  best  application  of 
his  judgment.*  He  wanted  not,  however,  authority  of 
another  kind  for  his  leading  opinions.  On  the  article  of 
justification  he  agreed  with  all  the  reformed  churches  ; 
his  notion  of  saving  faith  was  substantially  that  of  the 
divines  of  the  best  ages  of  the  reformation,  and  of  still 
earlier  times  ;  nor  was  his  doctrine  of  the  direct  witness 
of  tlie  Spirit  to  our  adoption  one  as  to  which  any  exclu- 
sive peculiarity  could  be  attributed  to  him,  except  that  he 
more  largely  and  zealously  preached  it  than  any  other 
man  in  modern  times.  It  was  the  doctrine  of  Luther, 
Calvin,  Beza,  Arminius,  and  others  of  equally  eminent 

'  •  The  following  beautiful  and  striking  passage,  illustrative  of  the 
above  remark,  is  from  the  preface  to  his  sermons  : — 

"  To  candid,  reasonable  men,  I  am  not  afraid  to  la}' open  what 
have  been  the  inmost  tlioushts  of  my  heart.  I  have  thouglit,  I  am  a 
creature  of  a  day,  passing  through  Hfe,  as  an  arrovir  througli  the  air. 
I  am  a  spirit  come  from  God  ;  and  returning  to  God  ;  just  liovering 
over  the  groat  gulf;  till,  a  few  moments  hence,  I  am  no  more  seen  ! 
I  drop  into  an  unchangeable  eternity  !  I  want  to  know  one  thing, 
the  way  to  heaven  :  how  to  land  safe  on  that  happy  shore.  God 
himself  h2is  condescended  to  teach  the  way  ;  for  this  very  end  he 
came  from  lieaven.  He  hath  written  it  down  in  a  book  !  O  give 
me  that  book  !  At  any  price,  give  me  the  book  of  God  !  I  have  it : 
here  l«  knowledge  enough  for  me.  Let  me  be  homo  tinius  libri. 
[A  man  of  one  book.]  Here  then  I  am,  far  from  the  busy  ways 
of  men.  I  sit  down  alone  !  only  Gcod  is  here.  In  his  presence  I 
open,  I  read  his  book  ;  for  tliis  end,  to  find  the  way  to  heaven.  Is 
there  a  doubt  concerning  the  meaning  of  what  I  read  1  Does  any 
thing  appear  dark  and  intricate  1  I  lift  up  my  heart  to  the  Father 
of  Lights. — Lord,  is  it  not  thy  word,  '  If  any  man  lack  wisdom,  let 
him  ask  of  God.'  Thou  '  givcst  liberally  and  upbraidest  not.'  Thou 
hast  said,  '  If  any  be  willing  to  do  thy  will,  he  shall  know.'  I  am 
wilUng  to  do  :  Let  me  know  thy  will.  I  then  search  after  and  con- 
bider  parallel  passages  of  Scripture,  '  comparing  spiritual  things  with 
spiritual.  I  meditate  thereon  with  all  the  attention  and  earnestness 
of  which  my  mind  is  capable.  If  any  doubt  still  remain,  I  consult 
those  who  are  exjiorienced  in  the  things  of  God  ;  and  then,  the  wri- 
tings, whereby,  being  dead,  they  yet  speak.  And  what  I  thus  learn, 
that  I  teach." 


176 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


rank  abroad  and  at  home.  We  may  add  also  that  such 
prelates  and  divines  as  Hooper,  Andrews,  Hall,  Hooker, 
Usher,  Brownrigg,  Wake,  Pearson,  Barrow,  Owen,  and 
Poole,  have  expressed  it  in  terms  as  explicit,  and  with 
equal  deference  to  the  testimony  of  the  word  of  God. 

The  minutes  of  the  early  conferences  are  not  confined 
to  doctrinal  discussions  ;  but  we  see  in  them  the  frame 
of  the  discipline  of  the  body;  growing  up  from  j'ear  to 
year,  and  embodied  in  many  copious  directions  and  ar- 
rangements. The  most  important  of  these  remain  in 
force  to  this  day,  although  some  in  a  maturer  state  of  the 
society  have  gone  into  disuse.  This  discipline  need  not 
particularly  be  specified,  as  being  for  the  most  part  well 
known  and  established  ;  but  a  few  miscellaneous  particu- 
lars may  be  selected  from  the  minutes  of  several  succes- 
sive years,  as  being  in  some  instances  of  great  import- 
ance, and  in  others  characteristic,  and  occasionally 
amusing. 

The  duty  of  obeying  bishops  was  considered  at  the 
very  first  conference  of  1744  ;  and  the  conclusion  is,  that 
this  obedience  extends  only  to  things  indifferent  ;  a 
rather  strict  narrowing  up  of  canonical  obedience,  at  fhis 
early  period. — The  establishment  of  "  a  Seminary  for 
labourers"  was  a  subject  of  consideration  at  this  confer- 
ence also,  but  was  postponed.  The  reasons  why  it  was 
not  afterwards  carried  into  effect  appear  to  have  been,  the 
rapid  spread  of  the  work,  and  the  consequent  demand  for 
additional  preachers.  Mr.  Wesley  also  looked  to  Kings- 
wood  School  as  subsidiary  to  this  design.  In  the  mean 
time  he  enjoined  the  study  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  poets 
and  historians,  as  well  as  the  original  scriptures,  upon  the 
preachers ;  and  a  large  course  of  theological  and  general 
reading.  This  shows  his  views  as  to  the  subserviency  of 
literature  to  usefulness  in  the  ministry.* 

*  As  the  subject  of  a  seminary  or  college  has  been  of  late  brought 
under  discussion,  it  may  be  not  uninteresting  to  those  who  have  not 
ac^fs  to  the  manuscript  copies  of  the  first  minutes,  extracts  from 
which  only  are  in  print,  to  give  the  passages  which  relate  to  this  sub- 
ject from  the  complete  minutes  of  1744  and  1745.  In  the  former 
year  it  is  asked,  "  Can  we  have  a  seminary  for  labourers  V  and  the 


LIFE  OF  WESLEV. 


177 


No  preaching  was  to  be  continued  where  societies  were 
not  raised  up.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  fixed  maxim  with 
the  Wesleys,  not  to  spend  time  in  cultivating  barren 
ground. — No  band-ticket  was  to  be  given  to  the  wearers  of 
ruffles, — a  practice  which,  tliough  then  common,  accorded 
not  with  their  notions  either  of  good  taste,  or  of  the  duty 
of  economizing  money  in  order  to  charity. — Equal  strict- 
ness was  observed  as  to  the  dress  of  females.  Simplex 
I  munditiis  was  Mr.  Wesley's  classical  rule  ;  and  the  exclu- 
sive "  ornament  of  a  meek  and  qiiiet  spirit,"  his  scriptural 
one. — All  who  married  unbelievers  were  to  be  expelled 
from  society. — The  people  were  required  not  only  to  stand 
during  singing,  but  whilst  the  text  was  read.  This  excel- 
lent custom  now  continues  only  in  Ireland. — Dram-drink- 
ing and  pawnbroking  were  also  sins  of  exclusion  :  so  that, 
in  fact,  the  Methodist  societies  were  the  first  temperance 
societies. — Reading  was  enjoined  as  a  religious  duty,  and 
every  preacher  was  bound  to  circulate  every  new  book 
published  or  recommended  by  Mr.  Wesley  ;  so  anxious  was 
he  to  spread  useful  knowledge  through  society,  and  to  im- 
prove at  once  the  intellects  and  the  hearts  of  his  people. — 
The  officers  of  the  society  are  said  to  be  "  clergymen  as- 
sistants, helpers,  stewards,  leaders  of  bands,  leaders  of 
classes,  visiters  of  the  sick,  schoolmasters,  and  house- 
keepers." The  last  class  will  in  the  present  day  create  a 
smile  ;  but  at  that  time  their  business  was  to  reside  in  the 
houses  built  in  several  of  the  large  towns,  where  both  Mr. 
Wesley  and  the  preachers  took  up  their  abode  during  their 
stay.  They  were  elderly  and  pious  women,  Avho,  being  once 
invested  with  an  official  character,  extended  it  sometimes 
from  the  house  to  the  church,  to  the  occasional  annoyance 
of  the  preachers.  As  married  preachers  began  to  occupy 
the  houses,  they  were  at  length  dispensed  with. — Smug- 
gling and  the  buying  of  uncustomed  goods  had  frequent 
anathemas  dealt  out  against  them,,  and  expulsion  was 
the  unmitigated  penalty. — Respect  of  persons  was  strictly 

answer  is,  "  If  God  spare  us  till  another  conference."  The  next 
year  the  subject  was  resumed,  "  Can  wc  have  a  seminary  for  labour- 
ers yet Answer.  "Not  till  God  gives  us  a  proper  tutor."  So 
that  the  institution  was  actually  resolved  upon,  and  delayed  only  by 
circumstances. 


178 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


forbidden  to  the  preachers,  who  were  also  enjoined  to  be 
easy  of  access  to  all.  Every  preacher  was  to  promise 
rather  to  break  a  limb  than  to  dissappoint  a  congregation. — 
No  preacher  was  to  be  continued  who  could  not  preach 
twice  every  day. — He  was  to  take  care  that  only  suitable 
tunes  should  be  sung ;  and  was  advised  to  use  in  public  only 
hymns  of  prayer  and  praise,  not  those  descriptive  of  states 
of  mind. — Lemonade  was  to  be  taken  after  preaching,  or 
candied  orange-peel,  or  a  little  warm  ale ;  but  egg  and 
wine,  and  late  suppers,  are  denounced  as  downright  poison. 
The  views  entertained  of  a  call  to  the  ministry,  deserve 
quoting  in  full : — 

"  Q.  How  shall  we  try  those  who  think  they  are  moved 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  called  of  God  to  preach  1 

"  A.  Inquire,  1.  Do  they  know  God,  as  a  pardoning  God? 
Have  they  the  love  of  God  abiding  in  them  1  Do  they  de- 
sire and  seek  nothing  but  God  1  And  are  they  holy  in  all 
manner  of  conversation  ? 

"2.  Have  they  gifts  (as  well  as  grace)  for  the  work? 
Have  they  a  clear,  sound  understanding  ?  Have  they  a 
right  judgment  in  the  things  of  God  1  Have  they  a  just 
conception  of  salvation  by  faith  ?  And  has  God  given 
them  any  degree  of  utterance?  Do  they  speak  justly, 
readily,  clearly? 

"  3.  Have  they  fruit  ?  Are  any  truly  convinced  of  sin,  and 
converted  to  God,  by  their  preaching? 

"  As  long  as  these  three  marks  concur  in  any,  we  believe 
he  is  called  of  God  to  preach." 

The  probation  of  the  preachers  was  at  first  one  year ;  but 
was  afterwards  extended  to  four. — The  following  minute  of 
1745  shows,  that  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  was  never  considered 
as  co-ordinate  with  his  brother  in  the  government  of  the 
societies : 

"  Should  not  my  brother  follow  me  step  by  step,  and  Mr. 
Meriton  (another  Clergyman)  him  ? 
"  A.  As  far  as  possible." 

What  Mr.  Wesley  was  next  to  write,  was  a  matter  on 
which  he  asked  the  advice  of  the  conference  for  several 
years. — A  little  stock  of  medicines,  to  be  dispensed  to  the 
poor,  was  ordered  to  be  provided  for  London,  Bristol,  and 
Newcastle.   It  is  not  generally  known  that  Mr.  Wesley 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


179 


pursued  a  course  of  regular  medical  study,  whilst  at  Oxford. 
Preachers  were  cautioned  against  giving  out  long  hymns  ; 
and  were  exhorted  to  choose  tlie  tunes,  so  that  they  might 
be  suitable  to  the  hymn. — Copies  of  the  minutes  of  the  con- 
ference were  to  be  written  out  and  given  to  each  member 
present :  when  the  number  of  preachers  increased,  printing 
was  adopted.* — In  1749.  it  seems  to  have  been  proposed  that 
the  societies  every  where  should  be  considered  om'^  of  which 
the  London  society  should  be  the  mother  church.  This 
however  came  to  nothing.  The  societies  indeed  were  one, 
but  the  centre  of  union  was  first  Mr.  Wesley  himself,  then 
the  conference  of  preachers. — In  the  same  year  all  chapels 
were  directed  to  be  built  after  the  model  of  that  of  Rother- 
ham,  and  the  number  of  circuits,  each  very  extensive,  had 
increased  to  twenty  two. — Regular  funds  for  the  support  of 
the  preachers,  and  for  aiding  worn-out  preachers,  began  now 
to  be  established.  A  regular  settlement  of  the  Chapels  upon 
trustees  had  been  enjoined  in  1749  ;  and  in  1765,  a  person 
was  appointed  to  be  sent  through  England  to  survey  the 
deeds,  and  supply  wanting  trustees.  AH  chapel  windows 
were  to  be  sashed;  no  "tub  pulpits"  were  to  be  allowed; 
and  men  and  women  were  every  where  to  sit  apart ; — The 
societies  are  warned  against  little  oaths,  such  as  "  my  life," 
"my  honour,"  &c.,  and  against  "compliments,"  and  un- 
meaning words. — In  general,  many  are  reproved  for  talking 
too  much,  and  j-eading  too  little. — In  1776,  all  octagon 
chapels  are  directed  to  be  built  like  that  at  Yarm;  and  all 
square  ones  like  that  at  Scarborough. — No  Chinese  paling 
was  to  be  set  up  before  any  chapel ;  and  the  people  are  for- 
bidden to  crowd  into  the  preacher's  houses,  as  though  they 
were  colTee-houses.— No  leaders'  meeting  was  to  be  held 
without  the  presence  of  a  preacher,  and  the  spirit  of  deba- 
ting at  all  meetings  was  to  be  strictly  guarded  against. — If 
bankrupts  did  not  pay  their  debts  when  they  are  able,  they 
♦  Perhaps  not  more  than  one  or  two  manuscript  copies  of  the 
complete  minutes  of  the  conferences  from  1744  to  1747  are  in  ex- 
istence. That  which  lies  before  me,  and  from  which  extracts  have 
been  made  in  the  preceding  pages,  wants  two  or  three  of  the  first 
pages  of  the  minutes  of  1744.  It  was  not  written  by  Mr.  Wesley, 
but  is  a  copy  corrected  by  his  own  hand  in  diiferent  places.  This  is 
mentioned,  as  several  of  the  extracts  will  be  new  even  to  some  of  the 
senior  preachers. 


180 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


were  to  be  excluded  the  society.  Sluts  were  to  be  kept  out 
of  the  preacher's  houses,  and  cleanliness  was  held  to  be 
next  to  godliness. 

Thus  to  a  number  of  little  things  among  many  greater 
and  weightier  matters,  the  active  mind,  the  taste,  and  the 
orderly  habits,  of  the  founder  of  Methodism  applied  itself. 
Every  thing  was,  however,  kind  and  bland  in  his  manner  of 
injunction;  and  when  he  was  disappointed  as  to  the  exact 
observance  of  his  regulations,  his  displeasure  was  admirably 
proportioned  to  the  weight  of  the  case.  No  man  generally 
knew  better  how  to  estimate  the  relative  importance  of 
things,  and  to  give  each  its  proper  place  and  rank,  although 
it  would  be  to  deny  to  him  the  infirmity  of  human  nature 
to  suppose  that  this  rule  of  proportion  was  always  observed. 
If  little  things  were  by  him  sometimes  made  great;  this 
praise,  however,  he  had  without  abatement,  that  he  never 
made  great  things  little. 

The  notices  of  the  deaths  of  the  preachers  year  by  year 
in  the  early  minutes,  all  bear  the  impress  of  the  brevity  and 
point  of  Mr.  Wesley's  style.  The  first  time  that  the  regular 
question,  "  What  preachers  have  died  this  year?"  appears, 
is  in  the  minutes  of  1777.  A  few  sketches  of  character  from 
this  laconic  obituary  in  different  years,  will  illustrate  his 
manner  of  keeping  these  annual  records : — 

"Thomas  Hosking,  a  young  man,  just  entering  on  the 
work ;  zealous,  active,  and  of  an  imblamable  behaviour. 
And  Richard  Burke,  a  man  of  faith  and  patience,  made  per- 
fect through  sufferings :  one  who  joined  the  wisdom  and 
calmness  of  age,  with  the  simplicity  of  childhood." 

"  Richard  Boardman,  a  pious,  good-natured,  sensible  man, 
greatly  beloved  of  all  that  knew  him.  He  was  one  of  the 
two  first  that  freely  offered  themselves  to  the  service  of  our 
brethren  in  America.  He  died  of  an  apoplectic  fit,  and 
preached  the  nigiit  before  his  death.  It  seems  he  might 
have  been  eminently  useful,  but  good  is  the  will  of  the 
Lord. 

"  Robert  Swindells  had  been  with  us  above  forty  years. 
He  was  an  Israelite  indeed.  In  all  those  years  I  never 
knew  him  to  speak  a  word  which  he  did  not  mean  :  and  he 
always  spoke  the  truth  in  love;  I  believe,  no  one  ever 
heard  hira  speak  an  unkind  word.   He  went  through  exqui- 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


181 


site  pain  (by  the  stone)  for  many  years ;  but  he  was  not 
weary.   He  was  still. 

'  Patient  in  bearing  ill,  and  doing  well' 

"  One  thing  he  had  almost  peculiar  to  himself;  he  had  no 
enemy!  So  remarkably  was  that  word  fulfilled,  'Blessed 
are  the  merciful ;  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy.' 

"  .Tames  Barry  was  for  many  j'ears  a  faithful  labourer  in 
our  Lord's  vineyard.  And  as  he  laboured  much,  so  he  suffered 
much ;  but  with  unwearied  patience.  In  his  death  he  suf- 
fered nothing,  stealing  quietly  away  in  a  kind  of  lethargy. 

"  Thomas  Pajme  was  a  bold  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ.  His 
temper  was  uncommonly  vehement :  but  before  he  went 
hence,  all  that  vehemence  was  gone,  and  the  lion  was  be- 
come a  lamb.  He  went  away  in  the  full  triumph  of  faith, 
praising  God  with  his  latest  breath. 

•  "  Robert  Naylor,  a  zealous,  active  young  man,  was  caught 
away  by  a  fever  in  the  strength  of  his  years.  But  it  was  in 
a  good  hour  ;  for  he  returned  to  him  whom  his  soul  loved, 
in  the  full  assurance  of  faith. 

"  A  fall  from  his  horse,  which  was  at  first  thought  of  little 
consequence,  occasioned  the  death  of  John  Livermore ;  a 
plain,  honest  man,  much  devoted  to  God,  and  determined  to 
live  and  die  in  the  best  of  services." 

"  John  Prickard,  a  man  thoroughly  devoted  to  God,  and 
an  eminent  pattern  of  holiness  :  and  Jacob  Rowell,  a  faith- 
ful old  soldier,  fairly  worn  out  in  his  master's  service." 

"Tliomas  Mitchell,  an  old  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ." 

"  John  Fletcher,  [Vicar  of  Madeley,]  a  pattern  of  all 
holiness,  scarce  to  be  paralleled  in  a  century  ;  and  J.  Pea- 
cock, young  in  years,  but  old  in  grace ;  a  pattern  of  all 
holiness,  full  of  faith,  and  love,  and  zeal  for  God. 

"  Jeremiah  Robertshaw,  who  was  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus 
Christ,  fairly  worn  out  in  his  master's  service.  He  was  a 
pattern  of  patience  for  many  years,  labouring  under  sharp 
and  almost  continual  pain,  of  meekness  and  gentleness  to  all 
men,  and  of  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity. 

"  Joshua  Keighley,  who  was  a  young  man  deeply  devoted 
to  God,  and  greatly  beloved  by  all  that  knew  him.   He  was 

"  Alx)ut  the  marriage-state  to  prove, 
But  death  had  swifter  wings  than  love." 
IG 


182 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


"Charles  Wesley,  who,  after  spending  fourscore  years 
with  much  sorrow  and  pain,  quietly  retired  into  Abraham's 
bosom.  He  had  no  disease ;  but  after  a  gradual  decay  of 
some  months, 

'  The  weary  wheels  of  life  stood  still  at  last.' 

His  least  praise  was,  his  talent  for  poetry ;  although  Dr. 
Watts  did  not  scruple  to  say,  that  '  that  single  poem, 
Wrestling  Jacob,  was  worth  all  the  verses  he  himself  had 
written.' 

"  John  Mayly,  worn  out  in  the  service  of  his  master:  he 
suffered  much  in  his  last  illness,  and  died  triumphant  in  the 
Lord." 

Thus  neither  his  brother  Charles,  nor  Mr.  Fletcher,  had  a 
longer  eulogy  than  any  other  preacher ; — so  great  was  Mr. 
Wesley's  love  of  brevity. 

The  "  care  of  the  churches"  now  had  come  upon  him, 
and  was  increasing  ;  he  had  a  responsibility  to  man  as  well 
as  to  God,  for  the  right  management  of  a  people  whom  his 
labours  and  those  of  his  coadjutoi-s  had  formed  into  a  body 
distinct  from  the  national  church,  and  indeed,  as  to  all  eccle- 
siastical control,  separate  from  it,  although,  in  part,  the  mem- 
bers were  attendants  on  her  services.  He  was  most  anxious 
that  this  people  should  be  raised  to  the  highest  state  of  reli- 
gious and  moral  excellence ;  that  they  should  be  exemplary 
in  all  the  relations  of  life,  civil  and  domestic;  wise  in  the 
scriptures ;  well  read  in  useful  books ;  self-denying  in  their 
conduct  almost  to  severity ;  and  liberal  in  their  charities,  in 
order  to  which  they  were  enjoined  to  abstain  from  all  un- 
necessary indulgences,  and  to  be  plain  and  frugal  in  dress. 
They  were  expected  to  rise  early  to  a  religious  service  at 
five  o'clock,  and  to  attend  some  evening  service,  if  possible, 
several  times  in  the  week ;  and,  beside  their  own  Sabbath 
meetings,  to  be  punctual  in  observing  the  services  of  the 
church.  They  were  to  add  to  all  this  the  most  zealous 
efforts  to  do  good  to  the  bodies  and  souls  of  those  who  were 
around  them  ;  and  to  persevere  in  all  these  things  with  an 
ardour  and  an  unweariedness  equal  to  his  own.  With  these 
great  objects  so  strongly  impressed  upon  his  mind,  that  he 
should  feel  compelled  to  superintend  every  part  of  the  sys- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


183 


tern  he  had  put  into  operation,  and  attend  to  every  thing 
great  or  little  which  he  conceived  to  retard  or  accelerate  its 
motion,  was  the  natural  consequence,  and  became  with  him 
matter  of  imperative  conscience.  A  nobler  object  man 
could  not  propose  to  himself,  than  thus  to  spread  the  truth 
and  the  example  of  a  living  and  practical  Christianity- 
through  the  laud,  and  to  revive  the  spirit  of  piety  in  a  fallen 
church,  and  among  a  neglected  people ;  and  he  had  suffi- 
cient proofs  from  the  wonderful  success  which  had  followed, 
success  too  of  the  most  unequivocal  kind,  because  the  hearts 
of  "  multitudes  had  been  turned  to  the  Lord,"  that  he  was 
in  the  path  of  duty,  and  that  the  work  was  of  God  ;  but  the 
standard  which  he  set  up  in  his  own  mind  and  in  his  rules, 
both  for  his  preachers  and  people,  was  so  high,  that,  in  the 
midst  of  all  those  refreshing  joys  which  the  review  of  the 
work  often  brought,  feelings  of  disappointment,  and  some- 
thing like  vexation,  occasionally  break  forth  in  the  minutes  of 
his  conferences.  On  the  preacliers  in  their  circuits  an  activi  • 
ty,  an  occupation  of  time,  and  an  attention  to  various  duties, 
had  been  enjoined,  similartohisown;  but  the  regulations  un- 
der which  they  were  placed,  were  often  minute,  and  in  minor 
matters  they  were  often  failing,  even  when  in  other  respects 
they  most  faithfully  and  laboriously  fulfilled  their  ministry. 
Stewards,  leaders,  and  trustees,  come  in  also  occasionally 
for  their  share  of  remonstrance  and  rebuke  on  account  of 
inattention;  whilst  the  societies,  as  being  exposed  to  the 
various  errors  of  the  day,  and  to  the  ordinary  influences 
of  the  temptations  of  an  earthly  state,  sometimes  declined, 
and  then  again  revived  ;  in  some  places  were  negligent,  and 
in  others  were  almost  every  thing  he  could  wish  them  to  be, 
so  that  he  could  say  with  an  apostle  respecting  them, 
"  Great  is  my  glorying."  To  Mr.  Wesley's  frequent  trials 
of  patience  were  to  be  added  the  controversies,  often  very 
illiberal,  in  which  he  Avas  engaged,  and  the  constant  misre- 
presentations and  persecutions  to  which  he  and  the  societies 
were  for  many  years  exposed.  When  all  these  things  are 
considered,  and  when  it  is  also  recollected  how  mucl'  every 
man  who  himself  works  by  a  strict  method  is  apt  to  be  af- 
fected by  the  irregularities  and  carelessness  of  others  ;  the 
full  and  tranquil  flow  of  his  zeal  and  energy,  and  the  tem- 
per, at  once  so  strict  and  so  mild,  wliich  breathes  in  the  Mi- 


184 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


nutes  of  the  Conferences,  place  him  in  a  very  admirable 
point  of  light.  Vexation  and  disappointment  passed  over 
his  serene  mind  like  the  light  clouds  over  the  bright  summer 
field.  The  principle  of  an  entire  devotedness  to  serve  God, 
and  "  his  generation  according  to  the  will  of  God,"  in  him 
never  relaxed ;  and  the  words  of  one  of  his  own  beautiful 
hymns,  to  which,  in  advanced  life,  in  a  conversation  with  a 
friend,  he  once  alluded,  as  expressing  his  own  past  and  ha- 
bitual experience,  were  in  him  finely  realized : — 

"Jesus,  confirm  my  heart's  desire, 

To  work,  and  speak,  and  think  for  thee ; 
Btill  let  me  guard  the  holy  fire, 
And  still  stir  up  thy  gift  in  me. 

"  Ready  for  all  thy  perfect  will, 

My  acts  of  faith,  and  love  repeat, 
Till  death  thy  endless  mercies  seal, 
And  make  the  sacrifice  complete," 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  doctrines  and  principal  branches  of  the  discipline  of 
the  body  being  generally  settled,  Mr.  Wesley  desisted  from 
publishing  extracts  from  the  minutes  of  the  annual  confer- 
ences from  1749  to  1765.  In  the  minutes  of  the  latter  year 
we  find  for  the  first  time  a  published  list  of  the  circuits,  and 
of  the  preachers.*  The  circuits  were  then  twenty-Jive  in 
England,  extending  from  Cornwall  to  Newcastle-upon-Tyne ; 
in  Scotland  four;  in  Wales  two;  in  Ireland  eight;  in  all 
thirty-nine.  The  total  number  of  the  preachers,  given  up 
entirely  to  the  work,  and  acting  under  Mr.  Wesley's  direc- 

.  •  In  the  manuscript  copy  of  the  first  minutes  before  mentioned, 
lists  of  circuits  occasionally  appear,  as  in  1746  : — "  How  many  cir- 
cuits are  there  ?  Answer. — Seven.  1.  London,  including  Surrey 
end  Kent.  2.  Bristol,  including  Somersetshire,  Portland,  "Wiltshire, 
Oxfordshire,  and  Gloucestershire.  3.  Cornwall.  4.  Evesham,  including 
Shrewsbury,  Leominster,  Hereford,  Stroud,  and  Wednesbury.  5. 
York,  including  Yorkshire,  Cheshire,  Lancashire,  Derbyshire,  Not- 
tinghamshire,  and  Lincohishixe.   6.  Newcastle,   7.  Walee." 


LIFE  or  WESLEY. 


185 


tion,  had  then  risen  to  vinety-two.  But  it  will  be  necessary 
to  look  back  upon  the  labours  of  the  two  brothers  during 
this  interval.  Instead,  however,  of  tracing  Mr.  Wesley's 
journeys  into  various  parts  of  the  kingdom  in  detail  from  his 
journals,  which  present  one  uniform  and  imwearied  activity 
in  his  high  calling,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  notice  the  princi- 
pal incidents. 

Mr.  Charles  Wesley  married  in  1749,  yet  still  continued 
his  labours  Avith  but  little  abatement.  He  was  in  London  at 
the  time  of  the  earthquake,  and  was  preaching  at  the 
Foundry  early  in  the  morning  when  the  second  shock  occur- 
red. The  entry  in  his  journal  presents  him  in]  a  sublime 
attitude,  and  may  be  given  as  an  instance  of  what  may  be 
truly  called  the  majesty  of  faith  :  "  March  8th,  1750.  This 
morning,  a  quarter  after  five,  we  had  another  shock  of  an 
earthquake  far  more  violent  than  that  of  February  8th.  I 
was  just  repeating  my  text,  when  it  shook  the  Foundry  so 
violently,  that  we  all  expected  it  to  fall  on  our  heads.  A 
great  cry  followed  from  the  women  and  children.  I  imme- 
diately called  out,  '  Therefore  we  will  not  fear,  though  the 
earth  be  moved,  and  the  hills  be  carried  into  the  midst  of  the 
*«a ;  for  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  with  us ;  the  God  of  Ja- 
^ob  is  our  refuge.'  He  filled  my  heart  with  faith,  and  my 
mouth  with  words,  shaking  their  souls  as  well  as  their 
bodies.  The  earth  moved  westward,  then  eastward,  then 
westward  again,  through  all  London  and  Westminister.  It 
was  a  strong  and  jarring  motion,  attended  with  a  rumbling 
noise  like  that  of  thunder.  Many  houses  were  much  sha- 
ken, and  some  chimneys  thrown  down,  but  without  any  fur- 
ther hurt."* 

The  impression  produced  in  London  by  this  visitation  is 
thus  recorded  in  a  letter  from  Mr.  Briggs  to  Mr.  John  Wes- 
ley : — "  This  great  city  has  been,  for  some  days  past,  under 
terrible  apprehensions  of  another  earthquake.  Yesterday, 
thousands  fled  out  of  town,  it  having  been  confidently  as- 
serted by  a  dragoon,  that  he  had  a  revelation  that  great  part 
of  London,  and  Westminster  especially,  would  be  destroyed 
by  an  earthquake  on  the  4th  instant,  between  twelve  and  one 
at  night.   The  whole  city  was  under  direful  apprehensions. 


Journal. 


186 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


Places  of  worship  were  crowded  with  frightened  sinners, 
especially  our  two  chapels,  and  the  Tabernacle,  where  Mr. 
Whitefield  preached.  Several  of  the  classes  came  to  their 
leaders,  and  desired  that  they  would  spend  the  night  with 
them  in  prayer ;  which  was  done,  and  God  gave  them  a 
blessing.  Indeed  all  around  was  awful.  Being  not  at  all 
convinced  of  the  prophet's  mission,  and  having  no  call  from 
any  of  my  brethren,  I  went  to  bed  at  my  usual  time,  believ- 
ing I  was  safe  in  the  hands  of  Clirist ;  and  likewise,  that,  by 
doing  so,  I  should  be  the  more  ready  to  rise  to  the  preaching 
in  the  morning ;  which  I  did,  praised  be  my  kind  Protector." 
In  a  postscript  he  adds,  "  Though  crowds  left  the  town  on 
Wednesday  night,  yet  crowds  were  left  behind ;  multitudes 
of  whom,  for  fear  of  being  suddenly  overwhelmed,  left  their 
houses,  and  repaired  to  the  fields,  and  open  places  in  the  city. 
Tower-Hill,  Moorfields,  but  above  all,  Hyde-Park,  were  fill- 
ed, the  best  part  of  the  night,  with  men,  women,  and  children, 
lamenting.  Some,  with  stronger  imaginations  than  others, 
mostly  women,  ran  crying  in  the  streets,  '  An  earthquake ! 
an  earthquake  !'  Such  distress,  perhaps,  is  not  recorded  to 
have  happened  before  in  this  careless  city.  Mr.  Wliitefield 
preached  at  midnight  in  Hyde-Park.  Surely  God  will  visit 
this  city ;  it  will  be  a  time  of  mercy  to  some.  0  may  I  be 
found  watching  !"* 

So  ready  were  these  great  preachers  of  the  time  to  take 
advantage  of  every  event  by  which  they  might  lead  men  to 
God.  One  knows  not  which  most  to  admire,  Mr.  Whitefield 
preaching  at  midnight  in  Hyde-Park  to  a  crowd  of  affright- 
ed people,  expecting  the  earth  to  swallow  them  up;  or  Mr. 
Chai-les  Wesley,  with  the  very  ground  reeling  under  him, 
calling  out  to  the  congregation,  '•  Therefore  will  we  not  fear, 
though  the  earth  be  moved,  and  the  hills  be  carried  into  the 
midst  of  the  sea ;  for  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  with  us  ;  the  God 
of  Jacob  is  our  refuge ;"  and  using  this  as  his  text. 

The  detected  immorality  and  expulsion  of  one  of  the 
preachers,  James  Wheatley,t  led  the  brothers  to  determine 

*  Whitehead's  Life. 

+  Mr.  Wesley  has  been  censured  by  some  persons  for  sanctioning 
the  publication  of  a  pamphlet  on  the  "Duties  of  Husbands  and 
Wives,"  written,  as  they  supposed,  by  this  wretched  man,  and  espe  - 
cially for  doing  this  after  tlie  misconduct  of  the  author  had  been 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


187 


upon  instituting  a  more  strict  inquiry  into  the  life  and  be- 
haviour of  every  preacher  in  connexion  with  them.  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley  undertook  that  office,  as  being  perhaps  more 
confident  in  his  own  discernment  of  character,  and  less  in- 
fluenced by  affection  to  the  preachers.  The  result  was, 
however,  highly  creditable  to  them,  for  no  irregularity  of 
conduct  was  detected ;  but  as  the  visitation  was  not  conduct- 
ed, to  say  the  least  of  it,  in  the  bland  manner  in  which  it 
would  have  been  executed  by  Mr.  John  Wesley,  who  was 
indeed  alone  regarded  as  the  father  of  the  connexion,  it  led, 
as  might  be  expected,  to  bickerings.  Many  of  the  preachers 
did  not  come  up  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley's  notions  of  attach- 
ment to  the  church ;  some  began  to  wish  a  little  larger  share 
in  the  government ;  and  a  few  did  not  rise  to  his  standard  of 
ministerial  abilities,  although  of  this  he  judged  only  by  re- 
port. From  this  time  a  stronger  feeling  of  disunion  between 
the  preachers  and  him  grew  up,  which  ultimately  led  to  his 
taking  a  much  less  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  body, 
except  to  interfere  occasionally  with  his  advice,  and,  in  still 
later  years,  now  and  then  to  censure  the  increasing  irregu- 
larity of  his  brother's  proceedings.  The  fact  was,  Mr.  John 
Wesley  was  only  carried  forward  by  the  same  stream  which 
had  impelled  both  the  brothers  irretrievably  far  beyond  the 
line  prescribed  to  regular  churchmen;  and  Charles  was 
chafing  himself  with  the  vain  attempt  to  buffet  back  the  tide, 
or  at  least  to  render  it  stationary.  He  saw,  no  doubt,  during 
the  visitation  which  he  had  lately  undertaken,  a  growing 
tendency  to  separation  from  the  church  both  among  many 
of  the  preachers  and  the  people,  which,  although  it  was  the 
natural,  nay,  almost  necessary,  result  of  the  circumstances 
in  which  they  were  placed,  he  somewhat  uncand  idly  attri- 
buted to  the  ambition  of  the  former  ;  and,  laying  it  down  as 
a  necessary  qualification,  that  no  preacher  ought  to  be  em- 
ployed without  giving  some  explicit  pledge  as  to  his  purpose 

brought  to  light.  But  the  charge  is  without  foundation.  The 
pamphlet  in  question  was  not  written  by  James  Wheatley,  the  preach- 
er, but  l)y  William  Whateley,  the  puritan  minister  of  Banbury ;  a 
man  of  the  most  exemplary  piety,  and  one  of  the  best  practical  wri- 
ters of  his  age,  who  died  in  1639.  The  work  from  which  the  pamph- 
let was  extracted  is  entitled,  "A  Bride-Bush,"  and  bears  the  date  of 
1619  i  which  was  at  least  a  hundred  years  before  Wheatley  was  born. 


188 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


of  adherence  to  the  church,  he  attempted  to  associate  him- 
self with  his  brother  in  the  management,  with  eqnal  power 
to  call  preachers  into  the  Avork,  and  then  to  govern  them. 
He  appears  laudably  to  have  wished  to  improve  their  talents; 
but  he  proposed  also  greatly  to  restrict  their  number,  and  to 
subject  them  to  stricter  tests  as  to  their  attachment  to  the 
establishment.  Here  began  an  important  difference  between 
the  two  brothers.  Some  impression  was  made  upon  the 
mind  of  Mr.  John  Wesley  by  his  brother's  letters  written  to 
him  during  his  tour  of  inquisition,  principally  as  they 
exaggerated  the  growing  danger  of  separation  from  the 
church ;  and  upon  Charles's  return  to  London,  John  was 
persuaded,  although  "  with  difficulty,"  to  sign  an  agreement, 
engaging  that  no  preacher  should  be  called  into  the  work 
except  by  both  of  them  conjointly,  nor  any  re-admitted  but 
with  mutual  consent.  The  intention  of  Charles  was  evi- 
dently to  obtain  a  controlling  power  over  his  brother's  pro- 
ceedings ;  but  there  was  one  great  rule  to  which  Mr.  John 
Wesley  was  more  steadily  faithful.  This  was  to  carry  on 
and  extend  that  which  he  knew  to  be  the  work  of  God,  with- 
out regarding  probable  future  consequences  of  separation 
from  the  church  after  his  death  ;*  which  was  in  fact  the 
principle  on  which  they  had  agreed  at  the  first  conference 
of  1744,t  and  to  which  Charles  stood  pledged  as  fully  as 
himself  It  seems,  therefore,  that  when  Mr.  John  Wesley 
more  fully  discovered  his  brother's  intention  to  restrict  the 
number  of  preachers,  under  the  plea  of  employing  only  men 
of  superior  abilities  ;  and  more  especially  after  all  that  had 
passed  between  Charles  and  them  during  the  inquisitorial 
visitation  just  named  had  been  reported  to  him,  he  felt  little 
disposed  to  assent  to  his  having  co-authority  with  himself 
in  the  management  of  the  connexion;  and  Charles  with- 
drawing more  from  public  life,  the  government  remained 
with  John  still  more  exclusively  than  before.  This  acquisi- 
tion of  entire  authority,  as  it  has  been  called,  has  been  re- 

♦  "  Cliurch  or  no  church,"  he  observes  in  one  of  his  letters  to 
Charles,  "we  must  attend  to  the  work  of  saving  souls."  And  in 
another,  "  I  neither  set  it  up,  nor  pull  it  down ;  but  let  you  and  I 
build  the  city  of  God." 

tSce  pages  123,  124. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


189 


ferred  to  by  one  of  Mr.  Wesley's  biographers  as  a  proof  of 
his  ambition,  and  his  inability  to  bear  a  rival.  The  affection 
of  the  brothers  itself  affords  a  strong  presumption  against 
the  existence  of  any  such  jealousy  between  them  :  and  be- 
sides, we  find  no  previous  instance  of  a  single  struggle  for 
authority.  But  the  fact  was,  that  John  always  led  the  way, 
as  sole  director,  with  Charles  as  a  confidential  adviser  ;  and 
they  long  acted  together  in  this  relation  as  with  one  soul. 
In  the  present  case  it  was  Charles  only  who  grasped  at  a 
power  which  he  had  not  previously  possessed ;  and  this  was 
for  a  moment  yielded,  though  hesitatingly,  upon  an  ex  'parte 
statement,  and  under  views  not  fully  manifested.  \Vlien, 
however,  those  were  disclosed,  John  recoiled  ;  and  his  bro- 
ther, by  a  partial  secession  from  the  work,  left  the  whole 
care  of  it  upon  his  hands.  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  had  indeed, 
some  time  before  this,  rathei*  hastily  interposed  to  prevent 
the  marriage  of  his  brother  with  a  very  pious  and  respecta- 
ble woman,  ]\Irs.  Grace  Murray,  to  whom  he  was  attached, 
and  that  probably  under  the  influence  of  a  little  family  pride, 
as  she  was  not  in  an  elevated  rank  of  life  ;*  and  this  affair, 
in  which  there  appears  to  have  been  somewhat  of  treachery, 

*  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  and  Mr.  Whitefield  got  the  lady  hastily 
married  to  Mr.  Bennett,  one  of  the  preachers,  whilst  his  brother  was 
at  a  distance,  probably  not  being  liimself  aware,  any  more  than  she, 
of  the  strength  of  his  attachment.  The  following  extract  from  one 
of  Mr.  Wesley's  unpublished  letters  shows,  however,  that  he  deeply 
felt  it : — '•  The  sons  of  Zeruiah  were  too  strong  for  me.  The  whole 
world  fought  against  me,  but,  above  all,  my  own  familiar  friend. — 
Then  was  the  word  fulfilled,  '  Son  of  man,  behold,  I  take  from  thee 
the  desire  of  thine  eyes  at  a  stroke,  yet  shall  thou  not  lament,  neither 
shall  thy  tears  run  dovm.'  The  fatal,  irrecoverable  stroke  was  struck 
on  Thursday  Last.  Yesterday  1  saw  my  friend,  (that  was,)  and  him 
to  whom  she  is  sacrificed.  '  But  why  should  a  hving  man  complain, 
a  man  for  the  punishment  of  his  sins  7'  "  The  following  passages, 
from  a  letter  of  the  venerable  vicar  of  Shoreham  to  Mr.  Charles, 
intimate  how  much  he  sympathised  with  Mr.  John  Wesley  on  the 
occasion,  and  how  anxious  he  was  to  prevent  a  breach  between  the 
brothers,  which  this,  certainly  unbrotherly,  act,  the  only  one  into 
which  Charles  seems  to  have  been  lietrayed,  was  near  producing. — 
The  letter  is  dated,  Shoreham,  1749  : — "  Yours  came  this  day  to 
hand.  I  leave  you  to  guess  how  such  news  must  affect  a  person 
whose  very  soul  is  one  with  yours,  and  our  friend.  Let  me  conjure 
you  to  soothe  his  sorrows.  Pour  nothing  but  oil  and  wine  into  his 
wounds.   Indulge  no  views,  no  designs,  but  what  tend  to  the  honour 


190 


LITE  OF  WESLEY. 


although  no  doubt  well  intended,  had  for  the  first  time  in- 
terrupted their  harmony.  But  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  any 
feeling  of  resentment  remained  in  the  mind  of  John ;  and 
indeed  the  commission  of  visitation,  with  which  Charles  had 
been  invested,  was  a  sufficient  proof  that  confidence  had 
been  restored.  The  true  reason  of  the  difference  was,  that 
the  one  wished  to  contract  the  work,  from  fear  of  the  pro- 
bable consequence  of  separation  from  the  church ;  the  other 
pursued  his  course  of  enlarging  and  extending  it,  resolving 
to  prevent  separation  to  the  best  of  his  power,  but  leaving 
that  issue  in  higher  hands.  Still,  however,  the  affection  of 
the  brothers  remained  unimpaired. 

In  the  year  1751,  as  Mr.  Wesley  was  still  resolved  to 
marry,  believing  that  his  usefulness  would  be  thereby  pro- 
moted, he  took  to  wife  Mrs.  Vizelle,  a  widow  lady  of  inde- 
pendent fortune.  She  was  a  woman  of  a  cultivated  under- 
standing, as  her  remaining  letters  testify ;  and  that  she 
appeared  to  Mr.  Wesley  to  possess  every  other  qualification, 

of  God,  the  promoting  the  kingdom  of  his  dear  Son,  and  tlie  healing 
of  our  wounded  friend.  How  would  the  Phihstincs  rejoice  could 
they  liear  that  Saul  and  Jonathan  were  in  danger  from  their  own 
swords  !" 

I  have  seen  an  explanation  of  Mr.  Charles  Wesley's  conduct  in 
this  affair  by  the  late  Miss  Wesley ;  but  as  the  matter  occurred  before 
her  birth,  I  have  much  doubt  as  to  her  perfect  knowledge  of  the  cir- 
cumstances, so  that  I  shall  not  fully  state  it.  She  lays'the  fault  chiefly 
on  the  lady's  want  of  explicitness  ;  states  that  she  had  formed  a  pre- 
vious, but  concealed,  attachment  to  Mr.  Bennett ;  and  that  Mr. 
Charles  having  discovered  this,  he  hastened  the  marriage. 

Whatever  the  ostensible  reason  might  be,  it  was  no  doubt  eagerly 
seized  by  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  as  an  occasion  of  breaking  off  a  match, 
which  he  appears  some  time  before  to  have  interfered  with,  influenced, 
it  is  most  probable,  by  the  con^dcration  of  Mrs.  Murray's  inferior 
rank.  From  this  feeling  Mr.  John  Wesley  was  much  more  exempt, 
an  the  following  anecdote,  found  in  one  of  Miss  Wesley's  letters,  in- 
dicates in  a  way  very  creditable  to  his  amiable  temper  ; — "  My  brother 
Charles  had  an  attachment  in  early  youth  to  an  amiable  girl  of  infe- 
riour  birth  ;  this  was  much  opposed  by  my  mother  and  her  family, 
who  mentioned  it  with  concern  to  my  uncle.  Finding  from  my  father 
that  this  was  the  chief  objection,  my  uncle  only  replied,  '  Then  there 
is  no  family  blootl  ?  1  hear  the  girl  is  good ;  but  of  no  family.'  '  Nor 
fortune  cither,'  said  my  mother.  He  made  no  reply;  but  sent  nay 
brother  a  sura  of  money  as  a  wedding-present ;  and  I  believe  sincer«> 
ly  regretted  that  he  was  ultimately  crossed  in  his  inclination." 


UFE  OF  WESLEY. 


191 


which  promised  to  increase  both  his  usefulness  and  happi- 
ness,- we  may  conclude  from  his  having  made  choice  of  her 
as  his  companion.  We  must  suppose,  also,  that  as  he  never 
intended  to  relax  his  labours,  and  adopt  a  more  settled  mode 
of  life,  this  matter  also  was  fully  understood,  and  agreed  to 
before  marriage.  But  whatever  good  qualities  Mrs.  Wesley 
might  appear  to  have,  they  were  at  length  wholly  swallowed 
up  in  the  fierce  passion  of  jealousy.  For  some  time  she 
travelled  with  him :  but  becoming  weary  of  this,  and  not 
being  able  to  bind  him  down  to  a  more  domestic  life,  this 
passion  increased.  The  violence  of  her  temper  broke  out 
also  against  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  and  his  wife.  This  arose 
from  very  trifling  circumstances,  magnified  into  personal 
slights ;  and  various  unpleasant  scenes  are  mentioned  in  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley's  unpublished  letters,  and  described  with  a 
sprightliness  which,  whilst  it  shows  that  he  was  unconscious 
of  having  given  her  any  just  cause  of  off"ence,  equally  indi- 
cates the  absence  of  sympathy.  Perhaps  this  had  been  worn 
out  by  the  long  continuance  of  her  caustic  attacks  upon  him 
and  his  family,  both  by  word  and  by  letter.  Certainly  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley  must  have  felt  her  to  be  an  annoying  cor- 
respondent, if  we  may  judge  from  some  of  her  letters  still 
preserved,  and  in  which,  singular  as  it  may  appear,  she 
zealously  contends  for  her  husband's  superiority,  and  is  in- 
dignant that  he  should  be  wearing  himself  out  with  excessive 
labour,  whilst  Charles  was  remaining  at  home  in  ease.  Dr. 
Southey  has  candidly  and  justly  stated  the  matter  between 
her  and  her  persecuted  husband : — 

"  Had  Mrs.  Wesley  been  capable  of  understanding  her 
husband's  character,  she  could  not  possibly  have  been  jeal- 
ous; but  the  spirit  of  jealousy  possessed  her,  and  drove  her 
to  the  most  unwarrantable  actions.  It  is  said  that  she  fre- 
quently travelled  a  hundred  miles  for  the  purpose  of  watch- 
ing, from  a  window,  who  was  in  the  carriage  with  him  when 
he  entered  a  town.  She  searched  his  pockets,  opened  his 
letters,  piU  his  letters  and  papers  into  the  hands  of  his  ene- 
mies, in  hopes  that  they  might  be  made  use  of  to  blast  his 
character,  and  sometimes  laid  violent  hands  upon  him,  and 
tore  his  hair.  She  frequently  left  his  house,  and,  upon  his 
earnest  entreaties,  returned  again ;  till,  after  having  thus 
disquieted  twenty  years  of  his  life,  as  far  as  it  was  possible 


192 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


for  any  domestic  vexations  to  disquiet  a  man  whose  life  was 
passed  in  loco-motion,  she  seized  on  part  of  his  journals,  and 
many  other  papers,  Avhich  were  never  restored,  and  departed,  ' 
leaving  word  that  she  never  intended  to  return.  He  simply 
states  the  fact  in  his  journal,  saying  that  he  knew  not  what 
the  cause  had  been ;  and  he  briefly  adds,  Noii  earn  reliqui, 
non  dimisi,  non  revocdbo;  'I  did  not  forsake  her,  I  did  not 
dismiss  her,  I  will  not  recall  her.' 

The  worst  part  of  Mrs.  Wesley's  conduct,  and  which  only 
the  supposition  of  a  degree  of  insanity,  excited  by  jealousy, 
can  palliate,  was,  that  she  interpolated  several  letter.s,  which 
she  had  intercepted,  so  as  to  make  them  bear  a  bad  construc- 
tion; and  as  Mr.  Wesley  had  always  maintained  a  large 
correspondence  with  all  classes  of  persons,  and  among  others 
with  pious  females,  in  some  of  whose  letters  there  were 
strong  expressions  of  christian  affection,  she  availed  herself 
of  this  means  of  defaming  him.  Some  of  these  she  read  to 
different  persons  in  private,  and  especially  to  Mr.  Wesley's 
opponents  and  enemies,  adding  extempore  passages  in  the 
same  tone  of  voice,  but  taking  care  not  to  allow  the  letters 
themselves  to  be  read  by  the  auditors ;  and  in  one  or  two 
instances  she  published  interpolated  or  forged  letters  in  the 
public  prints.  How  he  conducted  himself  amidst  these  vex- 
ations, the  following  passages,  in  a  letter  from  Miss  Wesley 
to  a  friend,  written  a  little  before  her  death,  will  show.  They 
are  at  once  important  as  explanatory  of  the  kind  of  annoy- 
ance to  which  this  unhappy  marriage  subjected  her  uncle, 
and  as  containing  an  anecdote  strongly  illustrative  of  his 
character : — 

"  I  think  it  was  in  the  year  1775  my  uncle  promised  to 
take  me  with  him  to  Canterbury  and  Dover.  About  this 
time  Mrs.  We.sley  had  obtained  some  letters  which  she  used 
to  the  most  injurious  purposes,  misinterpreting  spiritual  ex- 
pressions, and  interpolating  words.  These  she  read  to  some 
Calvinists,  and  they  were  to  be  sent  to  the  Morning  Post.  A 
Calvinist  gentleman,  who  esteemed  my  father  and  uncle, 
came  to  the  former,  and  told  him  that,  for  the  sake  of  reli- 
gion, the  publication  should  be  stopped,  and  Mr.  John  Wes- 
ley be  allowed  to  answer  for  himself.   As  Mrs.  Wesley  had 


♦  Southey's  Life. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


193 


read,  but  did  not  show,  the  letters  to  him,  he  had  some 
doubts  of  their  authenticity;  and  though  they  were  address- 
ed to  Mr.  John  Wesley,  they  might  be  forgeries;  at  any 
rate  he  ought  not  to  leave  town  at  such  a  juncture,  but  clear 
the  matter  satisfactorily. 

"  My  dear  father,  to  whom  the  reputation  of  my  uncle 
was  far  dearer  than  his  own,  immediately  saw  the  importance 
of  refutation,  and  set  off  to  the  Foundry  to  induce  him  to 
postpone  liis  journey,  while  I,  in  my  own  mind,  was  la- 
menting such  a  disappointment,  having  anticipated  it  with 
all  the  impatience  natural  to  my  years.  Never  shall  I  forget 
the  manner  in  which  my  father  accosted  my  mother  on  his 
return  home.  '  My  brother,'  says  he,  '  is  indeed  an  extraor- 
dinary man.  I  placed  before  him  the  importance  of  the 
character  of  a  minister ;  the  evil  consequences  which  might 
result  from  his  indifference  to  it ;  the  cause  of  religion ; 
stumbling-blocks  cast  in  the  way  of  the  weak  ;  and  urged 
him  by  every  relative  and  public  motive  to  answer  for  him- 
self, and  stop  the  publication.  His  reply  was,  Brother,  when 
I  devoted  to  God  my  ease,  my  time,  my  life,  did  I  except  my 
reputation  1  No.  Tell  Sally  I  will  take  her  to  Canterbury 
to-morrow.' 

"  I  ought  to  add,  that  the  letters  in  question  were  satisfac- 
torily proved  to  be  mutilated,  and  no  scandal  resulted  from 
his  trust  in  God." 

Some  of  these  letters  mutilated,  interpolated,  or  forged  by 
this  unhappy  woman,  have  got  into  different  hands,  and  are 
still  preserved.  In  the  papers  of  the  Wesley  family,  recent- 
ly collected,  there  are,  however,  sufficient  materials  for  a  full 
explanation  of  the  whole  case  iit  detail ;  but  as  Mr.  Wesley 
himself  spared  it,  no  one  will,  I  presume,  ever  farther  dis- 
turb this  impleasant  affair,  unless  some  publication  on  the 
part  of  an  enemy,  for  the  sake  of  gain,  or  lo  gratify  a  party- 
feeling,  should  render  it  necessary  to  defend  the  character 
of  this  holy  and  unsuspecting  man.* 

*  The  following  pa-ssagc,  in  a  letter  from  Mr.  Perronet  to  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley,  dated  Shoreham,  Nov.  3,  1753,  shows  that  Mr. 
Wesley's  matrimonial  afflictions  must  have  commenced  a  very  short 
time  after  marriage  ; — "  I  am  truly  concerned  that  matters  are  in  so 
melancholy  a  situation.  I  think  the  unhappy  lady  is  most  to  be 
pitied,  though  the  gentleman's  case  is  mournful  enough.   Their  suf- 


194 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


A  school  at  Kingswood,  near  Bristol,  for  the  children  of 
the  poor,  had  been  long  bnilt ;  but  that  neighbourhood  was 
also  fixed  upon  by  Mr.  Wesley  for  an  institution,  in  which 
the  sons  of  the  preachers,  and  those  of  tiie  richer  methodists, 
should  receive  at  once  the  best  education,  and  the  most  ef- 
ficient religious  training.  It  was  opened  in  June,  1748,  and 
he  published  soon  after  a  "  Short  Account"  of  the  institution, 
with  the  plan  of  education  adopted,  particularly  for  those 
who  were  to  remain  so  long  in  it  as  to  go  through  a  course 
of  academical  learning ;  and  adds,  "  Whoever  carefully 
goes  through  this  course  will  be  a  better  scholar  than  nine 
in  ten  of  the  graduates  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge."  In  this 
great  and  good  design  he  grasped  at  too  much ;  and  the 
school  came  in  time  to  be  confined  to  the  sons  of  the 
preachers,  and  ceased,  as  at  first,  to  receive  boarders.  In- 
deed, from  the  increase  of  tlie  preachers'  families,  the  school 
was  rapidly  filled,  and  required  enlargement  at  different 
times ;  and  finally,  it  was  necessary  to  establish  a  second 

fcrings  proceed  from  widely  different  causes.  His  are  the  visible 
chastisements  of  a  loving  Father.  Her's  the  immediate  effects  of  an 
angry,  bitter  spirit ;  and,  indeed,  it  is  a  sad  consideration,  that,  after 
so  many  months  have  elapsed,  the  same  warmth  and  bitterness  should 
remain."  This  truly  venerable  and  holy  man  died  in  1785,  in  the 
ninety-second  year  of  his  age.  Two  days  before  his  death,  his  grand- 
daughter, Miss  Briggs,  who  attended  him  day  and  night,  read  to  him 
the  three  last  chapters  of  Isaiah.  He  then  desired  her  to  go  into  the 
garden,  to  take  a  little  fresh  air.  Upon  her  return,  she  found  him  in 
an  ecstacy,  with  the  teaTs  running  down  his  cheeks,  from  a  deep  and 
lively  sense  of  the  glorious  things  which  she  had  just  been  reading 
to  him ;  and  which,  he  believed,  would  shortly  be  fulfilled  in  a  still 
more  glorious  sense  than  heretofore.  He  continued  unspeakably 
happy  all  that  day.  On  Sunday,  his  happiness  seemed  even  to  in- 
crease, till  he  retired  to  rest.  Miss  Briggs  then  went  into  the  room 
to  see  if  any  thing  was  wanting  ;  and  as  she  stood  at  the  feet  of  the 
bed,  he  smiled  and  said,  "  God  bless  thee,  my  dear  child,  and  all  that 
belongs  to  thee!  Yea,  he  will  bless  thee!"  Tliis  he  earnestly  re- 
peated till  she  left  the  room.  When  she  went  in  the  next  morning, 
his  happy  spirit  had  returned  to  God  I 

Mr.  Perronet,  Uke  those  great  and  good  men,  Messrs.  Grimshaw 
and  Fletcher,  continued  steadily  attached  to  Mr.  Wesley,  and  to  the 
Methodists.  He  received  the  preachers  joyfully,  fitted  up  a  room  in 
the  parsonage-house  for  their  use,  and  attended  their  ministry  him- 
self at  every  opportunity.  His  house  was  one  of  the  regular  places  of 
the  Kent  circuit,  and  so  continued  to  the  day  of  his  death.  All  his 
family  were  members  of  the  society,  and  two  o*"  his  sons  preachers. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


195 


sdiool  at  Woodhouse  Grove,  in  Yorkshire.  The  circum- 
stance of  the  preachers  being  so  much  from  home,  and  re- 
moving every  one  or  two  years  from  their  circuits,  render- 
ed an  institution  of  this  kind  imperative ;  and,  as  it  necessa- 
rily grew  out  of  the  system  of  itinerancy,  it  was  cheerfully 
and  liberally,  though  often  inadequately,  supported  by  pri- 
vate subscriptions,  and  a  public  annual  collection  throughout 
all  the  congregations.  The  most  gratifying  moral  results 
have  followed;  and  a  useful  and  religious  education  has 
been  secured  to  the  sons  of  the  preachers,  many  of  whom, 
especially  of  late  years,  having  afforded  undeniable  proofs  of 
genuine  conversion,  and  of  a  divine  call  to  public  labours  in 
the  church  of  Christ,  have  been  admitted  into  the  ministry, 
and  are  among  its  highest  ornaments,  or  its  brightest  hopes. 
It  is  however  to  be  regretted,  that  the  original  plan  of  Mr. 
Wesley,  to  found  an  institution  for  the  connexion  at  large, 
which  should  unite  the  advantages  of  a  school  and  a  col- 
lege, has  not  been  resumed  in  later  and  more  favourable 
times.  Various  circumstances,  at  that  early  period,  milita- 
ted against  the  success  of  this  excellent  project,  which  have 
gradually  disappeared ;  and  if  in  that  infant  state  of  the 
cause,  Mr.  Wesley  wisely  thought  that  Methodism  should 
provide  for  all  its  wants,  religious  and  educational,  within 
itself,  much  more  incumbent  is  it  to  do  so  now.  Many  of 
the  sons  of  our  friends,  for  want  of  such  a  provision,  have 
been  placed  in  schools  where  their  religious  principles  have 
been  neglected  or  perverted ;  and  too  often  have  been  taught 
to  ridicule,  or  to  be  ashamed  of,  the  religious  profession  of 
their  fathers. 

In  17.53,  Mr.  Wesley  visited  Scotland  a  second  time,  and 
preached  at  Glasgow  to  large  congregations.  He  had  gone 
there  on  the  invitation  of  that  excellent  man.  Dr.  Gillies, 
minister  of  the  college  kirk,  who,  a  few  days  after  he  left, 
wrote  to  him  as  follows : — "  The  singing  of  hymns  here 
meets  with  greater  opposition  than  I  expected.  Serious 
people  are  much  divided.  Tliose  of  better  understanding 
and  education  are  silent ;  but  many  others  are  so  prejudiced, 
especially  at  the  singing  publicly,  that  they  speak  openly 
against  it,  and  look  upon  me  as  led  to  do  a  very  Avrong  or 
sinful  thing.  I  beg  your  advice,  whether  to  answer  them 
only  by  continuing  in  the  practice  of  the  thing,  with  such 


196 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


as  have  freedom  to  join,  looking  to  the  Lord  for  a  blessing 
upon  his  own  ordinance :  or,  if  I  should  publish  a  sheet  of 
arguments  from  reason,  and  scripture,  and  the  example  of 
the  godly.  Your  experience  of  the  most  effectual  way  of 
dealing  with  people's  prejudices,  makes  your  advice  on  this 
head  of  the  greater  importance. 

"  I  bless  the  Lord  for  the  benefit  and  comfort  of  your  ac- 
quaintance, for  your  important  assistance  in  my  Historical 
Collections,  and  for  your  edifying  conversation  and  sermons 
in  this  place.  May  our  gracious  God  prosper  you  wherever 
you  are.  0,  my  dear  sir,  pray  for  your  brother,  that  I  may 
be  employed  in  doing  something  for  the  advancement  of  His 
glory,  who  has  done  so  much  for  me,  and  who  is  ray  only 
hope." 

This  prejudice  in  favour  of  their  own  doggerel  version  of 
the  Psalms  of  David,  generally  remains  among  the  Scotch 
to  this  day ;  and  even  in  the  Wesleyan  societies  raised  up 
there,  great  opposition  was  at  first  made  to  the  use  of 
hymns.  The  Historical  Collections  of  Dr.  Gillies,  men- 
tioned in  his  letter,  do  justice  to  that  revival  of  rehgion  in 
this  country  of  which  Methodism  was  the  instrument,  and 
gives  many  valuable  accounts  of  similar  revivals,  and  special 
effusions  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  churches  of  Christ,  in 
different  ages. 

The  following  extracts  from  two  of  Mr.  Wesley's  letters, 
written  about  this  time,  show  how  meekly  this  admirable 
man  could  take  reproof;  and  with  how  patient  a  temper  he 
could  deal  with  peevish  and  complaining  men. 

"  You  give,"  says  he,  "  five  reasons  why  the  Rev.  Mr. 

P  will  come  no  more  amongst  us:  1.  'Because  we 

despise  the  ministers  of  the  church  of  England.'  This  I 
flatly  deny.  I  am  answering  letters  this  very  post,  which 
bitterly  blame  me  for  just  the  contrary.  2. '  Because  so 
much  backbiting  and  evil-speaking  is  suffered  amongst  our 
people.'  It  is  not  suffered ;  all  possible  means  are  used,  both 
to  prevent  and  remove  it.  3.  '  Because  I,  who  have  written 
so  much  against  hoarding  up  money,  have  put  out  seven 
hundred  pounds  to  interest.'  I  never  put  sixpence  out  to 
interest  since  I  was  born;  nor  had  I  ever  one  hundred 
pounds  together,  my  own,  since  I  came  into  the  world. 
4.  '  Because  our  lay  preachers  have  told  many  stories  of 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


197 


my  brother  and  me.'  If  they  did,  I  am  sorry  for  them : 
when  I  hear  the  particulars  I  can  answer,  and  perhaps 
make  those  ashamed  who  believed  them.  5.  '  Because  we 
did  not  help  a  friend  in  distress.'  We  did  help  him  as  far 
as  we  were  able.    '  But  we  might  have  made  his  case  known 

to  Mr.  G  ,  Lady  H  ,'  &c.  So  we  did,  more  than  once ; 

but  we  could  not  pull  money  from  them,  whether  they 
would  or  no.  Therefore  these  reasons  arc  of  no  weight. 
You  conclude  with  praying,  that  God  would  remove  pride 
and  malice  from  amongst  us.  Of  pride  I  have  too  much : 
of  malice  I  have  none :  however,  the  prayer  is  good,  and  I 
thank  you  for  it." 

The  other  letter  from  which  I  shall  give  an  extract,  was 
written  apparently  to  a  gentleman  of  some  rank  and  in- 
fluence : — "  I  do  not  recollect,  for  I  kept  no  copy  of  my  last, 
that  I  charged  you  with  want  of  humility  or  meekness. 
Doubtless  these  may  be  found  in  the  most  splendid  palaces. 
But  did  tliey  ever  move  a  man  to  build  a  splendid  palace  ? 
Upon  what  motive  you  did  this,  I  know  not;  but  you  are  to 
answer  it  to  God,  not  to  me. 

"  If  your  soul  is  as  much  alive  to  God,  if  your  thirst  after 
pardon  and  holiness  is  as  strong,  if  you  are  as  dead  to  the 
desire  of  the  eye  and  the  pride  of  life,  as  you  were  six  or 
seven  years  ago,  I  rejoice  ;  if  not,  I  pray  God  you  may ;  and 
then  you  will  know  how  to  value  a  real  friend. 

"  With  regard  to  myself,  you  do  well  to  warn  me  against 
'  popularity,  a  thirst  of  power  and  of  applause ;  against  envy, 
producing  a  seeming  contempt  for  the  conveniences  or  gran- 
deur of  this  life ;  against  an  affected  humility ;  against  spar- 
ing from  myself  to  give  to  others,  from  no  other  motive  than 
ostentation.'  I  am  not  conscious  to  myself,  that  this  is  my 
case.  However,  the  warning  is  always  friendly ;  and  it  is 
always  seasonable,  considering  how  deceitful  my  heart  is, 
and  how  many  the  enemies  that  surround  me. — What  fol- 
lows I  do  not  understand You  behold  me  in  the  ditch, 
•wherein  you  helped,  though  innocently,  to  cast  me,  and 
with  a  Levitical  i)ity  pass  by  on  the  other  side.  He  and 
you,  sir,  have  not  any  merit,  though  Providence  should  per- 
mit all  these  sufferings  to  work  together  for  my  good.' — I  do 
not  comprehend  one  line  of  this,  and  therefore  cannot  plead 
either  guilty  or  not  guilty.   Ij)resume,  they  are  some  that 


198 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


are  dependent  on  me,  who,  you  say, '  keep  not  the  command- 
ments of  God;  who  sliow  a  repugnance  to  serve  and  obey; 
who  are  as  full  of  pride  and  arrogance,  as  of  filth  and  nasti- 
ness ;  who  do  not  pay  lawful  debts,  nor  comply  with  civil 
obligations ;  who  make  the  waiting  on  the  offices  of  religion, 
a  plea  for  sloth  and  idleness  ;  who,  after  I  had  strongly  re- 
commended them,  did  not  perform  their  moral  duty,  but  in- 
creased the  number  of  those  incumbrances  which  they  forced 
on  you,  against  your  will.' — To  this  I  can  only  say,  1.  I 
know  not  whom  you  mean ;  I  am  not  certain  that  I  can  so 
much  as  guess  at  one  of  them.  2.  Whoever  they  are,  had 
they  followed  my  instructions,  they  would  have  acted  in  a 
quite  different  manner.  3.  If  you  will  tell  me  them  by  name, 
I  will  renounce  all  fellowship  with  them." 

In  the  autumn  of  1753,  Mr.  Wesley  was  threatened  with 
consumption,  brought  on  by  repeated  attacks  of  cold.  By 
the  advice  of  Dr.  Fothergill  he  retired  to  Lewisham ;  and 
here,  not  knowing  how  it  might  please  God  to  dispose  of 
him,  and  wishing  "  to  prevent  vile  panegyric."  in  case  of 
death,  he  wrote  his  epitaph,  as  follows : — 
JUcre  iret!) 

THE  BODY  OF  JOHN  WESLEY, 
A  BRAND  PLUCKED  OUT  OF  THE  BURNING  J 
WHO  DIED  OF  A  CO.VSDMPTION  IN  THE  FIFTY-FIRST 
YEAR  OF  HIS  AGE. 
NOT  LEAVING,  AFTER  HIS  DEBTS  ARE  PAID, 
TEN  POUNDS  BEHIND  HIM: 
PRAYING 

God  he  merciful  to  me  an  unprofitable  servant! 

He  ordered,  that  this,  if  any  inscription,  should  be  placed  on  his 
tomb-stone. 

During  Mr.  Wesley's  illness,  Mr.  WTiiteficId  wrote  to  him 
in  a  strain  which  shows  the  fulness  of  affection  which  ex- 
isted between  those  great  and  good  men,  notwithstanding 
their  differences  of  opinion : — 

"  Bristol,  Dec.  3,  1753. 

"  Rev.  AND  VERY  DEAR  SiR, 

"If  seeing  you  so  weak  when  leaving 
London  distressed  me,  the  news  and  prospect  of  your  ap- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


199 


preaching  dissolution  hath  quite  weighed  me  down.  I  pity 
myself  and  the  church,  but  not  you.  A  radiant  throne 
awaits  you,  and  ere  long  you  will  enter  into  your  Master's 
joy.  Yonder  lie  stands  with  a  massy  crown,  ready  to  put 
it  on  your  head,  amidst  an  admiring  throng  of  saints  and 
angels.  But  I,  poor  I,  that  have  been  waiting  for  my  disso- 
lution these  nineteen  years,  must  be  left  behind  to  grovel 
here  below!  Well!  this  is  my  comfort:  it  cannot  be  long 
ere  the  chariots  will  be  sent  even  for  worthless  me.  If 
prayers  can  detain  them,  even  you,  Rev.  and  very  dear  Sir, 
shall  not  leave  us  yet :  but  if  the  decree  is  gone  forth,  that 
you  must  now  fall  asleep  in  Jesus,  may  he  kiss  your  soul 
iaway,  and  give  you  to  die  in  the  embraces  of  triumphant 
love  !  If  in  the  land  of  the  dying,  I  hope  to  pay  my  last 
respects  to  you  next  week.  If  not.  Rev.  and  very  dear  Sir, 
F — a — r — e — w — e — 11 ;  Ego  sequar,  etsi  non  passibus  ceqiiis* 
My  heart  is  too  big,  tears  trickle  down  too  fast,  and  you  are, 
I  fear,  too  weak,  for  me  to  enlarge.  Underneath  you  may 
there  be  Christ's  everlasting  arms  !  I  commend  you  to  his 
never-failing  mercy,  and  am, 

"  Rev.  and  very  dear  Sir, 
"  Your  most  affectionate,  sympathizing,  and  afflicted, 
younger  brother  in  the  Gospel  of  our  common  Lord, 
"  G.  WHITEFIELD." 

From  Lewisham  he  removed  to  the  Hot  Wells,  near  Bris- 
tol ;  and,  ever  intent  upon  improving  time,  began  his  Notes 
on  the  New  Testament.  For  some  time  after  this,  he  ap- 
pears to  have  remained  in  an  invalid  state.  During  his 
retirement  at  Paddington  he  read  a  work  which  made  a 
forcible  attack  upon  his  prejudices  as  a  churchman;  and 
soon  afterwards,  another,  which  still  farther  shook  the  defer, 
ence  he  had  once  been  disposed  to  pay  to  ecclesiastical  anti- 
quity. 

"  In  my  hours  of  w^alking,  I  read  Dr.  Calamy's  Abridg- 
ment of  Mr.  Baxter's  life.  What  a  scene  is  opened  there  ! 
In  spite  of  all  my  prejudices  of  education,  I  could  not  but 
see,  that  the  poor  nonconformists  had  been  used  without 
either  justice  or  mercy ;  and  that  many  of  the  protestant 

♦  "  I  shall  follow,  though  not  with  equal  steps." 


200 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


bishops  of  King  Charles  had  neither  more  religion  nor  hu- 
manity than  the  popish  bishops  of  Queen  Mary." 

"  I  read  Mr.  Baxter's  history  of  the  councils.  It  is  utterly 
astonishing,  and  would  be  wholly  incredible,  but  that  his 
vouchers  are  beyond  all  exception.  What  a  company  of 
execrable  wretches  have  they  been,  (one  cannot  justly  give 
them  a  milder  title,)  who  have,  almost  in  every  age  since  St. 
Cyprian,  taken  upon  them  to  govern  the  church!  How 
has  one  council  been  perpetually  cm-sing  another ;  and 
delivering  all  over  to  Satan,  whether  predecessors  or  con- 
temporaries, who  did  not  implicitly  receive  their  determina- 
tions, though  generally  trifling,  sometimes  false,  and  fre- 
quently unintelligible,  or  self-contradictory !  Surely  Maho- 
metanism  was  let  loose  to  reform  the  Christians  !  I  know 
not  but  Constantinople  has  gained  by  the  change." 

During  Mr.  Wesley's  illness,  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  went 
forth  to  visit  the  societies,  and  to  supply  his  brother's  place. 

In  1755,  at  the  conference  held  in  Leeds,  a  subject  which 
had  been  frequently  stirring  itself,  was  formally  discussed: — 

"  The  point  on  which  we  desired  all  the  preachers  to 
speak  their  minds  at  large,  was,  whether  we  ought  to  sepa- 
rate from  the  church.  Whatever  was  advanced  on  one  side 
or  the  other  was  seriously  and  calmly  considered  :  ajid  on 
the  third  day  we  were  all  fully  agreed  in  that  general  conclu- 
sion, that,  whether  it  was  lawful  or  not,  it  was  no  ways 
expedient.'''' 

Part  of  the  preachers  were,  without  restraint,  permitted 
to  speak  in  favour  of  a  measure  M'hich  in  former  conferen- 
ces would  not  have  been  listened  to  in  the  shape  of  discus- 
sion ;  and  the  conclusion  was,  that  the  question  of  lawful- 
ness of  separation  was  evaded,  and  the  whole  matter  was 
reduced  to  "  expediency."  Of  this  conference  we  have  no 
minutes ;  but  where  was  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  ?*  Mr. 
Charles  Perronet  and  some  others,  for  whom  Mr.  Wesley 
had  great  respect,  were  at  this  time  urging  him  to  make  full 
provision  for  the  spiritual  wants  of  his  people,  as  being  in 

*  Three  years  after,  Mr.  Wesley,  published  twelve  reasons  against 
separation,  all  however  of  a  prudential  kind.  To  these  Mr.  Charles 
Wesley  added  his  separate  testimony  ;  but  as  to  himself,  he  adds  that 
he  thought  it  not  lawful.  Here  then  was  another  tUfference  in  tho 
views  of  the  brothers. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


201 


fact  ill  a  state  of  real  and  liopeless  separation  from  the  church ; 
and  he  did  some  years  afterwards  so  far  relax,  as  to  allow 
of  preaciiing  in  church  hours  under  certain  circumstances, 
BS,  1.  When  tlie  minister  was  wicked ;  or  held  pernicious 
doctrine ;  2.  When  the  churches  would  not  contain  the 
population  of  a  town  ;  or  where  tlie  church  was  distant. 
In  that  case  he  prescribed  reading  the  psalms  and  lessons 
and  part  of  the  liturgy.  And  for  tliis  purpose,  as  well  as  for 
the  use  of  tlie  American  societies,  he  published  his  abridg- 
ment of  the  Common  Prayer  under  the  title  of  the  "  Sunday 
Service  of  tlie  Methodists." 

In  1756  lie  printed  an  address  to  the  clergy,  plain,  affec- 
tionate, and  powerful ;  breathing  at  once  the  spirit  of  an  apos- 
tle, and  the  feeling  of  a  brother.  Happy  if  that  call  had  been 
heard  !  He  might  perhaps  be  influenced  in  this  by  a  still 
lingering  hope  of  a  -revival  of  the  spirit  of  zeal  and  piety 
among  the  ministers  of  the  established  church ;  in  which 
case  that  separation  of  his  people  from  the  church,  which  he 
began  to  foresee  as  otherwise  inevitable,  he  thought  might 
be  prevented ;  and  this  he  had  undoubtedly  much  at  heart. 
Under  the  same  view  it  probably  was  that  in  1764  he  address- 
ed a  circular  to  all  the  serious  clergy,  whom  he  knew,  invi- 
ting tliem  to  a  closer  co-operation  in  promoting  the  influence 
of  religion  in  the  land,  without  any  sacrifice  of  opinion,  and 
being  still  at  liberty,  as  to  outward  order,  to  remain  "quite 
regular,  or  quite  irregular,  or  partly  regular  and  partly 
irregular."  Of  the  thirty-four  clergymen  addressed,  only 
three  returned  any  answer.  This  seems  to  have  surprised 
both  him  and  some  of  his  biographers.  The  reason  is, 
however,  very  obvious:  Mr.  Wesley  did  not  propose  to 
abandon  his  plan  and  his  preachers,  or  to  get  the  latter 
ordained  and  settled  in  curacies,  as  proposed  a  few  years  be- 
fore by  Mr.  Walker  of  Truro  ;  and  the  matter  had  now  obvi- 
ously gone  too  far  for  the  clergy  to  attach  themselves  to 
Methodism.  They  saw,  with  perhaps  clearer  eyes  than  Mr. 
Wesley's,  that  the  Methodists  could  not  now  be  embodied  in 
thechurch  ;  and  that  forthcmto  co-operatedirectly  withhim, 
would  only  be  to  partake  of  his  reproach,  and  to  put  diflicul- 
ties  in  their  own  way,  to  which  they  had  not  the  same  call. 
A  few  clergymen,  and  but  a  few,  still  continued  to  give  him, 
with  fulness  of  heart,  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  and  to 


202 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


co-operate  in  some  degree  with  him.  BackAvard  he  could 
not  go ;  but  the  forward  career  of  still  more  extended  useful- 
ness was  before  him.  From  this  time  he  gave  up  all  hope 
of  a  formal  connexion  with  even  the  pious  clergy.  "  They 
are,"  he  observes,  "  a  rope  of  sand,  and  such  they  will  con- 
tinue;" and  he  therefore  set  himself  with  deep  seriousness 
to  perpetuate  the  union  of  his  preachers.  At  the  con- 
ference of  1769,  he  read  a  paper,  the  object  of  which  was  to 
bind  the  preachers  together  by  a  closer  tie,  and  to  provide 
for  the  continuance  of  their  union  after  his  death.  They 
were  to  engage  solemnly  to  devote  themselves  to  God,  to 
preach  the  old  Methodist  doctrines,  and  to  maintain  the  whole 
Methodist  discipline;  after  Mr.  Wesley's  death  they  were 
to  repair  to  London,  and  those  who  chose  to  act  in  concert 
were  to  draw  up  articles  of  agreement ;  whilst  such  as  did 
not  so  agree  were  to  be  dismissed  "  in  the  most  friendly  way 
possible."  They  were  then  to  choose  a  committee  by  vote, 
each  of  the  members  of  which  was  to  be  moderator  in  his 
turn,  and  this  committee  was  to  enjoy  Mr.  Wesley's  power 
of  proposing  preachers  to  be  admitted  or  excluded,  of  ap- 
pointing their  stations  for  the  ensuing  year,  and  of  fixing  the 
time  of  the  next  conference.  This  appears  to  have  been  the 
first  sketch  of  an  ecclesiastical  constitution  for  the  body,  and 
it  mainly  consisted  in  the  entire  delegation  of  the  power 
which  Mr.  Wesley  had  always  exercised,  to  a  committee  of 
preachers  to  be  chosen  by  the  rest  when  assembled  in  con- 
ference. The  form  of  government  he  thus  proposed  was 
therefore  a  species  of  episcopacy  to  be  exercised  by  a  com- 
mittee of  three,  five,  or  seven,  as  the  case  might  be.  Another 
and  a  more  eligible  provision  Avas  subsequently  made;  but 
this  sufficiently  shows  that  Mr.  Wesley  had  given  up  all 
hope  of  union  with  the  church  ;  and  his  efforts  Avere  hence- 
forth directed  merely  to  prevent  any  thing  like  formal  sepa- 
ration, and  the  open  renunciation  of  her  communion,  during 
his  OAvn  life,  by  allowing  his  preachers  to  administer  the 
sacraments. 

About  this  time  much  prejudice  was  excited  against  Mr. 
Wesley  in  Scotland,  by  the  republication  of  Hervey's  Eleven 
Letters.  He  had  three  times  visited  this  country ;  and 
preaching  only  upon  the  fundamental  truths  of  Christianity, 
h^d  been  received  with  great  affection.  The  societies  had 


LirE  OF  WESLEY. 


209 


increased,  and  several  of  his  preachers  were  stationed  in  dif- 
ferent towns.  Lady  Frances  Gardiner,  the  widow  of  Colo- 
nel Gardiner,  and  other  persons  eminent  for  piety  and  rank, 
attended  tlie  Methodist  ministry ;  but  the  publication  of  this 
wretched  work  caused  a  temporary  odium.  Hervey,  who 
had  been  one  of  the  little  band  at  Oxford,  became  a  Calvinist ; 
and  as  his  notions  grew  more  rigid  with  age,  so  his  former 
feelings  of  gratitude  and  friendship  to  Mr.  Wesley  were 
blunted.  He  had  also  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Cudworth,  a 
decided  Antinomian,  who  "  put  in  and  out"  of  the  letters 
"  what  he  plea-sed."  They  were  not,  however,  published 
until  Hervey's  death,  sfud  again.st  his  dying  injunction.  It 
is  just  to  so  excellent  a  man  to  record  this  fact ;  but  the  work 
was  published  in  England,  and  re-published,  with  a  violent 
preface  by  Dr.  Erskine,  in  Scotland;  and  among  theCalvin- 
ists  it  produced  the  effect  of  inspiring  great  horror  of  Mr. 
Wesley  as  a  most  pestilent  heretic,  whom  it  was  doing  God 
service  to  abuse  without  measure  or  modesty.  The  feelings 
of  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  at  this  treatment  of  his  brother  may 
be  gathered  from  the  answer  he  returned  upon  being  request- 
ed to  write  Hervey's  epitaph : — 

ON  BEING  DESIRED  TO  WRITE  AN  EPITAPH  FOR 
MR.  JAMES  HERVEY. 

"  Oer-reacii'd,  impell'd  by  a  sly  Gnostick's  art, 

To  stab  his  father,  guide,  and  faithful  friend, 
Would  pious  Hervoy  act  the  accuser's  part  1 

And  could  a  life  like  his  in  malice  end  1 
"  No :  by  redeeming  love  the  snare  is  broke ; 

In  death  his  rash  ingratitude  he  blames  ; 
Desires  and  viJls  the  evil  to  revoke, 

And  dooms  the  unlinisied  libel  to  the  flames. 
"  Who  then  for  filthy  gain  betray'd  his  trust, 

And  show'd  a  kinsman's  fault  in  opon  light! 
Let  him  adorn  the  monumental  bust, — 

Th'  encomium  fair  in  brass  or  marble  write : 
"  Or  if  they  need  a  nobler  trophy  raise, 

As  long  as  Theron  and  Aspasio  live, 
Let  Madan  or  Romaine  record  lus  praise ; 

Enough  that  Wesley's  brother  ca.n  forgive!"* 

*  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  however,  aftcnvards  wrote  and  published 
some  verses  upon  Mr.  Hervey's  death,  in  which  the  kind  recoUcctiona 


204 


LIFE  or  WESLEY 


Tlie  unfavourable  impression  made  by  Hervey's  Letters, 
surcharged  by  Cudworth's  Antinomian  venom,  was,  how- 
ever, quickly  effaced  from  all  but  the  bigots ;  and  with 
them,  judging  from  Moncriefs  Life  of  Erskine,  it  remains  to 
this  day.  In  his  future  visits  to  Scotland,  Mr.  Wesley  was 
received  with  marks  of  the  highest  respect,  and  at  Perth  he" 
had  the  freedom  of  the  city  handsomely  conferred  upon  him. 


CHAPTER  XL 

Methodism  having  begun  to  make  some  progress  in 
America,  in  consequence  of  the  emigration  of  some  of  the 
members  of  the  society  from  England  and  Ireland,  Mr. 
Wesley  inquired  of  the  preachers  at  the  conference  of  1769, 
whether  any  of  them  would  embark  in  that  service.  Messrs. 
Boardman  and  Pilmoor,  two  excellent  men,  of  good  gifts, 
volunteered  their  services,  and  were  sent  to  take  the  charge 
of  the  societies.   From  this  time  the  work  spread  witlt 

of  old  friendsliip  arc  embodied,  and  the  anticipations  of  a  happy  meet- 
ing in  heaven  are  sweetly  expressed.  The  following  are  the  con- 
cluding stanzas : — 

Father,  to  us  vouchsafe  thy  grace, 
Which  brought  our  friend  victorious  through ; 

Let  us  his  shining  footsteps  trace, 
Let  us  liis  steadfast  faith  pursue ; 

Follow  this  follower  of  the  Lamb, 

And  conquer  all  through  Jesu's  name. 

"  Free  from  the  law  of -sin  and  death, 

Free  from  the  Antinomian  leaven, 
He  led  his  Master's  life  beneath ; 

And,  labouring  for  the  rest  of  heaven, 
By  active  love  and  watchful  prayer, 
He  show'd  liis  heart  already  there. 

"  0  might  we  all,  like  him,  believe, 
And  keep  the  faith,  and  win  the  prize ! 

Father,  prepare  and  then  receive 
Our  hallow'd  spirits  to  the  skies, 

To  chant  with  all  our  friends  above, 

Thy  glorious,  everlasting  love." 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


great  rapidity ;  more  than  twenty  preachers  had  devoted 
themselves  to  it  previously  to  the  war  of  independence; 
and  societies  were  raised  up  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  New- 
York,  and  Pennsylvania.  During  the  war  they  still  prose- 
cuted their  labours ;  though,  as  several  of  them  took  the 
side  of  the  mother  country,  they  were  exposed  to  danger. 
Others,  with  more  discretion,  held  on  their  way  in  silence, 
speaking  only  of  the  things  of  God.  The  warm  loyalty  of 
Mr.  Wesley  led  him  to  publish  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject  of 
the  quarrel,  entitled,  "  A  calm  address  to  the  American  colo- 
nies ;"  but  the  copies  which  were  shipped  for  America  w-ere 
laid  hold  of  by  a  friend,  who  suppressed  them  ;  so  that  the 
work  remained  unknown  in  the  colonies  imtil  a  considera- 
ble time  afterwards.  This  was  probably  a  fortunate  incident 
for  the  infant  cause.  After  the  war  had  terminated,  politi- 
cal views  were  of  course  laid  aside,  and  Mr.  Wesley  made  a 
provision  for  the  government  of  his  American  societies, 
which  will  be  subsequently  adverted  to.  They  became,  of 
course,  independent  of  British  Methodism,  but  have  most 
honourably  preserved  the  doctrines,  the  general  discipline, 
and,  above  all,  the  spirit  of  the  body.  Great,  and  even  as- 
tonishing, has  been  their  success  in  that  new  and  rising 
country,  to  the  wide-spread  settlements  of  which  their  plan 
of  itineranc'-  was  admirably  adapted.  The  Methodists  are 
become,  as  to  numbers,  the  leading  religious  body  of  the 
union  ;  and  their  annual  increase  is  very  great.  In  the  last 
year  it  was  thirty-six  thousand,  making  a  total  in  their  cora- 
*  munion  of  one  thousand  nine  hundred  ministers,  and  four 
hundred  and  seventy-six  thousand  members,  having,  as 
stated  in  a  recent  statistical  account  published  in  the  United 
States,  upwards  of  two  millions  five  hundred  thousand  of 
the  population  under  their  immediate  influence.  In  the 
number  of  their  ministers,  members,  and  congregations,  the 
Baptists  nearly  equal  the  Methodists ;  and  these  two  bodies, 
both  itinerant  in  their  labours,  have  left  all  the  other  religious 
denominations  far  behind.  It  is  also  satisfactory  to  remark, 
that  the  leading  preachers  and  members  of  the  Methodist 
church  in  the  United  States  appear  to  be  looking  forward 
with  enlarged  views,  and  with  prudent  regard,  to  the  future, 
and  to  aim  at  the  cultivation  of  learning  in  conjimction  with 
piety.  Several  colleges  have  been  from  time  to  time  esta- 
18 


200 


UfE  or  WESLEY. 


blished  ;  and  recently  a  university,  for  the  education  of  the 
youth  of  the  American  connexion,  has  been  founded.  The 
work  in  the  United  States  has  been  distinguished  by  frequent 
and  extraordinary  revivals  of  religion,  in  which  a  signal  ef- 
fect has  been  produced  upon  the  moral  condition  of  large 
districts  of  country,  and  great  numbers  of  people  have  been 
rapidly  brought  under  a  concern  for  their  salvation.  In  the 
contemplation  of  results  so  vast,  and  in  so  few  years,  we 
may  devoutly  exclaim,  "  What  hath  God  wrought !" 
>  The  mention  of  what  are  called  revivals  of  religion  in  the 
United  States  may  properly  here  lead  us  to  notice,  that,  in 
Great  Britain  also,  almost  every  Methodist  society  has  at 
different  times  experienced  some  sudden  and  extraordinary 
increase  of  members,  the  result  of  what  has  been  believed 
to  be,  and  that  not  without  good  reason,  a  special  effusion  of 
divine  influence  upon  the  minds  of  men.  Sometimes  these 
effects  have  attended  the  preaching  of  eminently  energetic 
preachers,  but  have  often  appeared  where  those  stationed  in 
the  circuits  have  not  been  remarkably  distinguished  for  en- 
ergy or  pathos.  Sometimes  they  have  followed  the  continued 
and  earnest  prayers  of  the  people ;  at  others  they  have  come 
suddenly  and  unlooked  for.  The  effects  however  have  been, 
that  the  piety  of  the  societies  has  been  greatly  quickened, 
and  rendered  more  deep  and  active,  and  that  their  number 
has  increased ;  and  of  the  real  conversion  of  many  who 
have  thus  been  wrought  upon,  often  very  suddenly,  the  best 
evidence  has  been  afforded.  To  sudden  conversions,  as  such, 
great  objections  have  been  indeed  taken.  For  these,  how- 
ever, there  is  but  little  reason ;  for  if  we  believe  the  testimony 
of  Scripture,  that  the  Spirit  is  not  only  given  to  the  disci- 
ples of  Christ,  after  they  assume  that  character,  but  in  order 
to  their  becoming  such  ;  that,  according  to  the  words  of  our 
Lord,  this  Spirit  is  sent  "  to  convince  the  world  of  sin,"  to 
the  end  that  they  may  believe  in  Christ ;  and  that  the  Gos- 
pel, faithfully  and  fully  proclaimed  by  the  ministers  of  Christ, 
is  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth,"  and  is  made  so  by  the  accompanying  influence  of 
the  Holy  Ghost ;  who  shall  prescribe  a  mode  to  divine  ope- 
ration? Who,  if  he  believes  in  such  an  influence  accompa- 
nying the  truth,  shall  presume  to  say  that  when  that  truth 
is  proposed,  the  attention  of  the  careless  shall  be  roused  only 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


207 


by  a  gradual  and  slow  process  ? — that  the  heart  shall  not  be 
brought  into  a  state  of  right  feeling  as  to  eternal  concerns, 
but  by  a  reiteration  of  means  which  we  think  most  adapted 
to  produce  that  effect? — that  no  influence  on  the  mind  is 
genuine  and  divine,  if  it  operates  not  in  a  prescribed  man- 
ner ? — that  the  Holy  Spirit  shall  not  avail  himself  of  the 
variety  which  exists  in  the  mental  constitutions  of  men,  to 
effect  his  purposes  of  mercy  by  different  methods? — and 
that  the  operations  of  grace  shall  not  present,  as  well  as 
those  of  nature,  that  beauteous  variety  which  so  much  illus- 
trates the  glory  of  Him  '•  who  worketh  all  in  all  ?"  And, 
further,  who  shall  say,  that  even  the  peculiarities  of  men's 
natures  shall  not,  in  some  instances,  be  set  aside  in  the  course 
of  a  divine  and  secret  operation,  which  touching  the  springs 
of  action,  and  opening  the  sources  of  feeling,  gives  an  in- 
tensity of  energy  to  the  one,  and  a  flow  to  the  other,  more 
eminently  indicative  of  the  finger  of  God  in  a  work  which 
his  own  glory,  and  the  humility  proper  to  man,  require 
should  be  known  and  acknowledged  as  His  M'ork  alone  ? — 
Assuredly  there  is  notliing  in  the  reason  of  the  case  to  fix 
the  manner  of  producing  such  effects  to  one  rule,  and  nothing 
in  Scripture.  Instances  of  sudden  conversion  occur  in  the 
New  Testament  in  sufficient  number  to  warrant  us  to  con- 
clude, that  this  may  be  often  the  mode  adopted  by  divine 
•wisdom,  and  especially  in  a  slumbering  age,  to  arouse  atten- 
tion to  long  despised  and  neglected  truths.  The  conversions 
at  the  day  of  Pentecost  were  sudden,  and,  for  any  thing  that 
appears  to  the  contrary,  they  were  real ;  for  the  persons  so 
influenced  were  thought  worthy  to  be  "  added  to  the  church." 
Nor  was  it  by  the  miracle  of  tongues  that  the  effect  was 
produced.  If  miracles  could  have  converted  them,  they  had 
witnessed  greater  than  even  tliat  glorious  day  exhibited. — 
The  dead  had  been  raised  up  in  their  s)c;ht,  the  earth  had 
quaked  beneath  their  feet,  the  sun  had  hid  himself  and  made 
an  untimely  night,  aixl  Christ  himself  had  arisen  from  a 
tomb  sealed  and  watched.  It  was  not  by  the  impression  of 
the  miracle  of  tongues  alone,  but  by  that  supervenient  gra- 
cious influence  which  operated  with  the  demonstrative  ser- 
mon of  Peter,  after  the  miracle  had  excited  the  attention  of 
his  hearers,  that  they  were  "pricked  in  their  hearts,  and 
cried,  men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do?" 


208 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


The  only  true  i-ule  of  judging  of  professed  conversion  is 
its  fruits.  The  modes  of  it  may  vary  from  circumstances 
of  which  we  are  not  the  fit  judges,  and  never  shall  be,  until 
we  know  more  of  the  mystic  powers  of  mind,  and  of  that 
intercourse  which  Almighty  God,  in  his  goodness,  conde- 
scends to  hold  with  it. 

^t  is  granted,  however,  that  in  such  cases  a  spurious  feel- 
ing has  been  often  mixed  up  with  these  genuine  visitations ; 
that  some  ardent  minds,  when  even  sincere,  have  not  suffi- 
ciently respected  the  rules  of  propriety  in  their  acts  of  wor- 
ship ;  that  some  religious  deception  has  taken  place ;  that 
some  persons  have  confounded  susceptibility  of  feeling  with 
depth  of  grace ;  that  censoriousness  and  spiritual  pride  have 
displaced  that  humility  and  charity  which  must  exist  wher- 
ever the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  really  present ; 
and  that,  in  some  cases,  a  real  fanaticism  has  sprung  up,  as 
in  the  case  of  George  Bell  and  his  followers  in  London,  at 
an  early  period  of  Methodism.  But  these  are  accidents, — 
tares  sown  in  the  field  among  the  good  seed,  which  were 
never  spared  by  Mr.  Wesley  or  his  most  judicious  succes- 
sors. In  the  early  stages  of  their  growth  indeed,  and  before 
they  assumed  a  decided  character,  they  were  careful  lest,  by 
plucking  them  up,  they  should  root  out  the  good  seed  also; 
but  both  in  Great  Britain  and  in  America,  no  extravagance 
has  ever  been  encouraged  by  the  authorities  of  either  socie- 
ty, and  no  importance  is  attached  to  any  thing  but  the  genu- 
ine fruits  of  conversion. 

In  the  early  part  of  1770,  we  find  Mr.  Wesley,  as  usual, 
prosecuting  his  indefatigable  labours  in  different  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  and  every  where  diffusing  the  influence  of  spiritu- 
ality and  zeal,  and  the  light  of  a  "  sound  doctrine."  His 
journals  present  a  picture  of  unwearied  exertion,  such  as 
was  perhaps  never  before  exhibited,  and  in  themselves  they 
form  ample  volumes,  of  great  interest,  not  only  as  a  record 
of  his  astonishing  and  successful  labours,  but  from  their 
miscellaneous  and  almost  uniformly  instructive  character. 
Now  he  is  seen  braving  the  storms  and  tempests  in  his  jour- 
neys, fearless  of  the  snows  of  winter,  and  the  heats  of  sum- 
mer ;  then,  with  a  deep  susceptibility  of  all  that  is  beautiful 
and  grand  in  nature,  recording  the  pleasures  produced  by  a 
smiling  landscape,  or  by  mountain  scenery :— Here  turning 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


209 


aside  to  view  some  curious  object  of  nature ;  there  some 
splendid  mansion  of  the  great ;  showing  at  the  same  time  in 
his  pious  and  often  elegant,  though  brief  reflections,  with 
what  skill  he  made  all  things  contribute  to  devotion  and 
cheerfulness.  Again,  we  trace  him  into  his  proper  work, 
preaching  in  crowded  chapels,  or  to  multitudes  collected  in 
the  most  public  resorts  in  towns,  or  in  the  most  picturesque 
places  of  their  vicinity.  Now  he  is  seen  by  the  side  of  the 
sick  and  dying,  and  then,  surromided  with  his  societies,  ut- 
tering his  pastoral  advices.  An  interesting  and  instructive 
letter  frequently  occurs;  then  a  jet  of  playful  and  good  hu- 
moured wit  upon  his  persecutors,  or  the  stupidity  of  his 
casual  hearers  ;  occasionally,  in  spite  of  the  philosophers, 
an  apparition  story  is  given  as  he  heard  it,  and  of  which  his 
readers  are  left  to  judge;  and  often  we  meet  with  a  grateful 
record  of  providential  escapes,  from  the  falls  of  his  horses, 
or  from  the  violence  of  mobs.  Notices  of  books  also  appear, 
■which  are  often  exceedingly  just  and  striking ;  always  short 
and  characteristic ;  and  as  he  read  much  on  his  journeys, 
they  are  very  frequent.  A  few  of  these  notices,  in  his  jour- 
nal of  this  year,  taken  without  selection,  may  be  given  as  a 
specimen  :  — 

"  I  read,  with  all  the  attention  I  was  master  of,  Mr. 
Hutchinson's  Life,  and  Mr.  Spearman's  Index  to  his 
Works.  And  I  was  more  convinced  than  ever,  1.  That  he 
had  not  the  least  conception,  much  less  experience,  of  in- 
ward religion  :  2.  That  an  ingenious  man  may  prove  just 
what  he  pleases,  by  well-devised  scriptural  etymologies :  es- 
pecially if  he  be  in  the  fashion,  if  he  affect  to  read  the  He- 
brew without  vowels:  and,  3.  That  his  whole  hypothesis, 
philosophical  and  theological,  is  misuppoi-ted  by  any  solid 
proof. 

"  I  sat  down  to  read  and  seriously  consider  some  of  the 
writings  of  Baron  Swedenborg.  I  began  with  huge  preju- 
dice in  his  favour,  knowing  him  to  be  a  pious  man,  one  of  a 
strong  understanding,  of  much  learning,  and  one  who  tho- 
roughly believed  himself.  But  I  could  not  hold  out  long. 
Any  one  of  his  visions  puts  his  real  character  out  of  doubt. 
He  is  one  of  the  most  ingenious,  lively,  entertaining  madmen, 
that  ever  set  pen  to  paper.  But  his  waking  dreams  are  so 
wild,  so  far  remote  both  from  Scripture  and  common  sense, 


210 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


that  one  might  as  easily  swallow  the  stories  of  Tom  Thumb, 
or  Jack  the  Giant-killer. 

"  I  met  with  an  ingenious  book,  the  late  Lord  Lyttleton's 
'  Dialogues  of  the  Dead.'  A  great  part  of  it  I  could  heartily 
subscribe  to,  though  not  to  every  word.  I  believe  Madam 
Guion  was  in  several  mistakes,  speculative  and  practical 
too  ;  yet  I  would  no  more  dare  to  call  her,  than  her  friend 
Archbishop  Fenelon,  '  a  distracted  enthusiast.'  She  was 
undoubtedly  a  woman  of  a  very  uncommon  understanding, 
and  of  excellent  piety.  Nor  was  she  any  more  'a  lunatic,' 
than  she  was  a  '  heretic' 

"  Another  of  this  lively  writer's  assertions  is,  '  Martin  has 
spawned  a  strange  brood  of  fellows,  called  Methodists,  Mo- 
ravians, Hutchinsonians,  who  are  madder  than  Jack  was  in 
his  M'orst  days.'  I  would  ask  any  one  who  knows  what 
good  breeding  means.  Is  this  language  for  a  nobleman  or 
for  a  porter  ?  But  let  the  language  be  as  it  may,  is  the  sen- 
timent just  1  To  say  nothing  of  the  Methodists,  (although 
some  of  them  too  are  not  quite  out  of  their  senses,)  could  his 
lordship  show  me  in  England  many  more  sensible  men  than 
Mr.  Gambold  and  Mr.  Okeley  ?  And  yet  both  of  these  were 
called  Moravians.  Or  could  lie  point  out  many  men  of 
stronger  and  deeper  understanding  than  Dr.  Horne  and  Mr. 
William  Jones?  (if  he  could  pardon  them  for  believing  the 
Trinity !)  And  yet  both  of  these  are  Hutchinsonians. 
What  pity  is  it,  that  so  ingenious  a  man,  like  many  others 
gone  before  him,  should  pass  so  peremptory  a  sentence,  in 
a  cause  which  he  does  not  understand !  Indeed,  how  could 
he  understand  it  1  How  much  has  he  read  upon  the  ques- 
tion 1  What  sensible  Methodist,  Moravian,  or  Hutchinso- 
nian,  did  he  ever  calmly  converse  with  ?  What  does  he 
know  of  them,  but  from  the  caricatures  drawn  by  Bishop 
Lavington,  or  Bishop  Warburton  ?  And  did  he  ever  give 
himself  the  trouble  of  reading  the  answers  to  those  warm, 
lively  men  ?  Why  should  a  good-natured  and  a  thinking 
man  thus  condemn  whole  bodies  of  men  by  the  lump  ?  In 
this  I  can  neither  read  the  gentleman,  the  scholar,  nor  the 
Christian. 

"  I  set  out  for  London,  and  read  over  in  the  way  that  cele- 
brated book,  '  Martin  Luther's  Comment  on  the  Epistle  to 
llie  Galatiaiis.'   I  was  utterly  ashamed.   How  have  I  es- 


LIKE  or  WESLEY. 


211 


teemed  this  book,  only  because  I  had  heard  it  so  commended 
by  others !  or,  at  best,  because  I  had  read  some  excellent 
sentences,  occasionally  quoted  from  it !  But  what  shall  I 
say,  now  I  judge  for  myself  ?  now  I  see  with  my  own  eyes? 
Why,  not  only  that  the  author  makes  nothing  out,  clears  up 
not  one  considerable  difficulty ;  that  he  is  quite  shallow  in 
his  remarks  on  many  passages,  and  muddy  and  confused  al- 
most on  all ;  but  that  he  is  deeply  tinctured  with  mysticism 
throughout,  and  hence  often  dangerously  wrong.  To  in- 
stance only  in  one  or  two  points.  How  does  he  (almost  in 
the  words  of  Tauler)  decry  reason,  right  or  wrong,  as  an  ir- 
reconcilable enemy  to  the  gospel  of  Christ !  Wliereas,  what 
is  reason  (the  faculty  so  called)  but  the  power  of  appre- 
hending, judging,  and  discoursing? — which  power  is  no 
more  to  be  condemned  in  tlie  gross,  than  seeing,  hearing,  or 
feeling.  Again,  how  blasphemously  does  he  speak  of  good 
works  and  of  the  law  of  God  ;  constantly  coupling  the  law 
with  sin,  death,  hell,  or  the  devil ;  and  teaching,  that  Christ 
delivers  us  from  them  all  alike.  Wliereas  it  can  no  more  be 
proved  by  Scripture,  that  Christ  delivers  us  from  the  law  of 
God,  than  that  he  delivers  us  from  holiness  or  from  heaven. 
Here  (I  apprehend)  is  the  real  spring  of  the  gi-and  error  of 
the  Moravians.  They  follow  Luther,  for  better  for  worse. 
Hence  their  '  No  works,  no  law,  no  commandment.'  But 
who  art  thou  that '  speakest  evil  of  the  law,  and  judgest  the 
law  V 

"  I  read  over,  and  partly  transcribed.  Bishop  Bull's  '  Har- 
monia  Apostolica.'  The  position  with  which  he  sets  out  is 
this,  '  that  all  good  works,  and  not  faith  alone,  are  the  ne- 
cessarily previous  condition  of  justification,'  or  the  forgive- 
ness of  our  sins.  But  in  the  middle  of  the  treatise  he  as- 
serts, '  that  faith  alone  is  the  condition  of  justification ;  for 
faith,'  says  he,  '  referred  to  justification,  means  all  inward 
and  outward  good  works.'  In  the  latter  end  he  affirms, 
'  tliat  there  arc  two  justifications :  and  that  only  inward  good 
works  necessarily  precede  the  former,  but  both  inward  and 
outward  the  latter.' " 

Mr.  Wesley  meant  this  brief  but  just  analysis  to  be  Bishop 
Bull's  refutation,  and  it  is  sufficient. 

"  Looking  for  a  book  in  our  college  library,  I  took  down, 
by  mistake,  the  works  of  Episcopius ;  which  opening  on  an 


212 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


account  of  the  Synod  of  Dort,  I  believed  it  might  be  useful 
to  read  it  through.  But  what  a  scene  is  here  disclosed !  I 
wonder  not  at  the  heavy  curse  of  God,  which  so  soon  after 
fell  on  the  church  and  nation.  Wliat  a  pity  it  is,  that  the 
holy  Synod  of  Trent,  and  that  of  Dort,  did  not  sit  at  the 
same  time ! — nearly  allied  as  they  were,  not  only  as  to  the 
purity  of  doctrine,  which  each  of  them  established,  but  alsb 
as  to  the  spirit  wherewith  they  acted ; — if  the  latter  did  not 
exceed. 

"  Being  in  the  Bodleian  library,  I  lit  on  Mr.  Calvin's  ac- 
count of  the  case  of  Michael  Servetus ;  several  of  whose  let- 
ters he  occasionally  inserts:  wherein  Servetus  often  declares 
in  terms,  '  I  believe  the  Father  is  God,  the  Son  is  God,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  God.'  Mr.  Calvin,  however,  paints  him 
such  a  monster  as  ne\'er  was,  an  Arian,  a  blasphemer,  and 
what  not ;  besides,  strewing  over  him  his  flowers  of  dog, 
devil,  swine,  and  so  on,  which  are  the  usual  appellations  he 
gives  to  his  opponents.  BiU  still  he  utterlj  denies  his  being 
the  cause  of  Servetus's  death.  'No,'  says  he  ;  '  I  only  ad- 
vised our  magistrates,  as  having  a  right  to  restrain  heretics 
by  the  sword,  to  seize  upon  and  try  that  arch-heretic.  But 
after  he  was  cojidemned,  I  said  not  one  word  about  his  exe- 
cution !' " 

The  above  may  be  taken  as  instances  of  his  laconic  re- 
views of  books. 

Mr.  Wesley's  defence  of  the  power  he  exercised  in  the  go- 
vernment of  the  Methodist  societies  may  also  here  be  given; 
observing,  that  it  is  easier,  considering  the  circumstances  in 
which  he  was  placed,  to  carp  at  it,  than  to  find  a  solid  an- 
swer. Few  men.  it  is  true,  have  had  so  much  power  :  but  on 
tire  other  hand,  he  couM  not  liave  retained  it  in  a  perfectly 
voluntary  society,  had  he  not  used  it  mildly  and  wi.sely,  and 
with  a  perfectly  disii  terested  and  public  spirit. 

"  What  is  that  power  ?  It  is  the  power  of  admitting  into 
and  excludnig  from  the  societies  under  my  care ;  of  choosing 
and  removing  stewards;  of  receiving  or  not  receiving  help- 
ers ;  of  apponUing  them  when,  where,  and  how  to  help  me, 
and  of  desiring  any  of  them  to  confer  with  me  when  I  see 
good.  And  as  it  was  merely  in  obedience  to  the  Providence 
of  God,  and  for  the  good  of  the  people,  that  I  at  first  accept- 
ed this  power,  which  I  never  sought ;  so  it  is  on  the  same 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


213 


consideration,  not  for'profit,  honour,  or  pleasure,  that  I  use 
it  at  this  day. 

" '  But  several  gentlemen  arc  offended  at  your  having  so 
much  power.'  I  did  not  seek  any  part  of  it.  But  when  it 
was  come  unawares,  not  daring  to  bury  that  talent,  I  used 
it  to  the  best  of  my  judgment.  Yet  I  never  was  fond  of  it. 
I  always  did,  and  do  now,  bear  it  as  my  burden,  the  burden 
which  God  lays  upon  me ;  and  therefore  I  dare  not  lay  it 
down. 

"  But  if  you  can  tell  me  any  one,  or  any  five  men,  to 
whom  I  may  transfer  this  burden,  who  can  and  will  do  just 
what  I  do  now,  I  will  heartily  thank  both  them  and  you."* 

This  year,  1770,  is  memorable  in  the  history  of  Method- 
ism, for  having  given  birth  to  a  long  and  very  ardent  contro- 
versy on  the  doctrines  of  Calvinism.  It  took  its  rise  from 
the  publication  of  the  minutes  of  the  conference  in  which 
it  was  determined,  that,  in  some  particulars  then  pointed  out, 
the  preachers  had  "leaned  too  much  to  Calvinism."  This 
is  easily  explained.  Mr.  Whitefield,  and  Howell  Harris,  the 
early  coadjutors  of  the  Wesleys,  became  Calviaists;  but  the 
affection  which  existed  among  this  little  band,  was  strong ; 
and  as  they  all  agreed  in  preaching,  what  was  at  that  time 
most  needed,  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith,  "  an  agree- 
ment" was  made  at  a  very  early  period,  between  the  Wesleys 
and  Howell  Harris,  to  forget  all  peculiarities  of  opinion  as 
much  as  possible  in  their  sermons,  to  Use  as  far  as  they  could, 
with  a  good  conscience,  the  same  phrases  in  expressing  the 
points  on  which  they  substantially  agreed,  and  to  avoid  con- 
troversy. Such  an  agreement  shows  the  liberal  feeling 
which  existed  among  the  parties ;  but  it  was  not  of  a  nature 
to  be  so  rigidly  kept  as  to  give  entire  satisfaction.  On  these 
articles  of  peace,  we  find  therefore,  endorsed,  at  a  subsequent 
period,  in  the  hand  writing  of  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  "  vain 
agreement."  Mr.  Wesley's  anxiety  to  maintain  unity  of 
effort  as  well  as  affection  with  Mr.  Whitefield,  led  him  also, 
in  1743,  to  concede  to  his  Caivinistic  views,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble ;  and  he  appears  not  to  have  been  disposed  to  deny, 
though  he  says  he  could  not  prove  it,  that  some  persons 
might  be  unconditionally  elected  to  eternal  glory  ;  but  not 


*  Wesley's  works. 


214 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY 


to  the  necessary  exclusion  of  any  other  from  salvation.  And 
he  was  then  "inclined  to  believe"  that  there  is  a  state  at- 
tainable in  this  life,  "  from  which  a  man  cannot  finally  fall." 
But  he  was  subsequently  convinced  by  the  arguments  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Walsh,  that  this  was  an  error.*  These  considera- 
tions will  account  for  the  existence  of  what  Mr.  Wesley 
called  "  a  leaning  to  Calvinism,"  both  in  himself,  and  among 
some  of  the  preachers,  and  rendered  'a  review  of  the  case 
necessary.f  Though  the  leaders  had  approached  so  near 
"the  very  edge  of  Calvinism"  on  one  side,  and  "of  Antino- 
mianism"  also,  with  safety,  it  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
others  should  ov  erstep  the  line.  Besides,  circumstances  had 
greatly  changed.  A  strong  tide  of  Antinomianism  had  set 
in,  and  threatened  great  injury  to  practical  godliness  through- 
out the  land.  Dr.  Southey  attributes  this  to  the  natural 
tendency  of  Methodism ;  but  here  he  shows  himself  only 
partially  acquainted  with  the  subject.  The  decline  of  reli- 
gion among  many  of  the  dissenting  churches  had  scattered 
the  seeds  of  this  heresy  all  around  them,  though  not  without 
calling  forth  a  noble  testimony  against  it  from  some  of  their 
ablest  ministers;  and  when  they  began  to  feel  the  influence 
of  the  revival  of  piety  in  the  last  century,  the  tares  sprung 

*  Mr.  Walsh  was  received  by  Mr.  Wesley  as  a  preacher,  in,  1750, 
and  died  in  1759.  The  following  is  Mr.  Wesley's  character  of  him: 
— "  That  blessed  man  sometimes  preached  in  Irish,  mostly  in  Eng- 
lish ;  and  wherever  he  preached,  whether  in  English  or  Irish,  the 
word  was  sharper  than  a  two  edged  sword.  So  that  I  do  not  remem- 
ber ever  to  have  knowTi  any  preacher,  who,  in  so  few  years  as  he  re- 
mained upon  earth,  was  an  instrument  of  converting  so  many  sinners 
from  the  error  of  their  ways.  By  violent  straining  of  his  voice,  he 
contracted  a  true  pulmonary  consumption,  which  carried  him  off.  O 
what  a  man  to  be  snatched  away  in  the  strength  of  his  years !  Surely 
thy  'judgments  are  a  great  deep  !' 

"  He  was  so  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  Bible,  that  if  he  was 
questioned  concerning  any  Hebrew  word  in  the  Old,  or  any  Greek 
word  in  the  New  Testament,  he  would  tell,  after  a  little  pause,  not 
only  how  often  one  or  the  other  occurred  in  the  Bible,  but  also  what 
it  meant  in  every  place.  Such  a  master  of  biblical  knowledge  1  ne. 
ver  knew  before,  and  never  expect  to  see  again." 

t  Mr.  Wesley's  sermon  on  imputed  righteousness  is  an  instance  of 
his  anxiety  to  approach  his  Calvinistic  brethren,  in  his  modes  of  ex- 
pression, as  far  as  possible ;  and  in  this  attempt  he  sometimes  laid 
himself  open  to  be  misunderstood  on  both  aides. 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


213 


up  with  tlie  plants  of  better  quality.  The  Calvinism  taught 
by  Mr.  Howell  Harris,  and  Mr.  Whitefield,  was  also  pervert- 
ed by  many  of  their  hearers  to  sanction  the  same  error. — 
Several  of  the  evangelical  clergy,  hkevvise,  who  had  no  im- 
mediate connexion  with  Mr.  Wesley,  were  Calvinists  of  the 
highest  grade ;  and  as  their  number  increased,  their  incau- 
tious statements  of  the  doctrines  of  grace  and  faith,  carried 
beyond  their  own  intentions,  became  more  mischievous.  To 
show,  however,  that  Antinomianism  can  graft  itself  upon 
other  stocks  besides  that  of  the  Calvinistic  decrees,  it  was 
found  also  among  many  of  the  Moravians ;  and  the  Method- 
ists did  not  escape.  Wlierevcr,  indeed,  the  doctrine  of  jus- 
tification by  faith  is  preached,  there  is  a  danger,  as  St.  Paul 
himself  anticipated  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  lest  per- 
verse, vain,  and  evil  minds  should  pervert  it  to  licentious- 
ness ;  heavenly  as  it  is  in  authority,  and  pure  in  its  influence, 
•when  rightly  understood.  In  fact,  there  is  no  such  exclu- 
sive connexion  between  the  more  sober  Calvinistic  theories 
of  predestination,  and  this  great  error,  as  some  have  suppo- 
sed. It  is  too  often  met  with,  also,  among  those  who  hold 
the  doctrine  of  general  redemption  ;  though  it  must  be  ac- 
knowledged, that,  for  the  most  part,  such  persons,  at  length, 
go  over  to  predestinarian  notions,  as  affording^at  least,  some 
collateral  confirmation  of  the  solifidian  theory.  That  Cal- 
vinistic opinions,  in  their  various  forms,  were  at  this  time 
greatly  revived  and  diffused,  is  certain.  The  religious  ex- 
citement produced  gave  activity  to  theological  inquiries ;  and 
speculative  minds,  especially  those  who  had  some  taste  for 
metaphysical  discussions,  were  soon  entangled  in  questions 
of  predestination,  prescience,  necessity,  and  human  freedom. 
The  views  of  Calvin  on  these  subjects  were  also  held  by 
many,  who,  connecting  them  with  vital  and  saving  truths, 
were  honoured  with  great  usefulness  ;  and  as  the  Wesleyan 
societies  were  often  involved  in  these  discussions,  and  in 
danger  of  having  their  faith  unsettled,  and  their  practical 
piety  injured  by  those  in  whom  Calvinism  had  begun  to 
luxuriate  into  the  ease  and  carelessness  of  Antinomian  li- 
cense, no  subject  at  that  period  more  urgently  required  at- 
tention. For  this  reason,  Mr.  Wesley  brought  it  before  his 
conference  of  preachers.  The  withering  effects  of  this  de- 
lusion were  also  strongly  pointed  out  in  his  sermons,  and 


216 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


were  afterwards  still  more  powerfully  depicted  by  the  mas- 
ter pencil  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  in  those  great  works  to  which  he 
now  began  to  apply  himself,  in  order  to  stem  the  torrent. 
Dr.  Southey  has  fallen  into  the  error  of  imagining  that  Mr. 
Fletcher's  descriptions  of  the  ravages  of  Antinomianism 
were  drawn  from  its  effects  upon  the  Wesleyan  societies  ; 
but  that  mistake  arose  from  his  not  adverting  to  the  circum- 
stance, that  neither  Mr.  Wesley  nor  Mr.  Fletcher  confined 
their  cares  to  these  societies,  but  kept  an  equally  watchful 
eye  upon  the  state  of  religion  in  the  land  at  large,  and  con- 
sequently in  the  church  of  which  they  were  ministers.  The 
societies  under  Mr.  Wesley's  charge  were  indeed  at  no  time 
more  than  very  partially  affected  by  this  form  of  error.  Still, 
in  some  places  they  had  suffered,  and  in  all  were  exposed  to 
danger ;  and  as  Mr.  Wesley  regarded  them,  not  only  as  a 
people  given  to  him  by  God  to  preserve  from  error,  but  to 
engage  to  bear  a  zealous  and  steadfast  testimony  "  against  the 
evils  of  the  time ;"  in  every  place,  he  endeavoured  to  pre- 
pare them  for  their  warfare,  by  instructing  them  fully  in  the 
questions  at  issue. 

The  Minutes  of  1770  contained,  therefore,  the  following 
passages : — 

"  We  said,  in  1744,  '  We  have  leaned  too  much  toward 
Calvinism.'    Wherein  1 

"  1.  With  regard  to  man's  faithfulness.  Our  Lord  him- 
self taught  us  to  use  the  expression.  And  we  ought  never 
to  be  ashamed  of  it.  We  ought  steadily  to  assert,  on  his 
authority,  that  if  a  man  is  not '  faithful  in  the  unrighteous 
mammon,'  God  will  not  give  '  him  the  true  riches.' 

"  2.  With  regard  to '  working  for  life.'  This  also  our  Lord 
has  expressly  commanded  us.  '  Labour,'  ipyi^caBc,  literally, 
'  work  for  the  meat  that  endureth  to  everlasting  life.'  And  in 
fact,  every  believer,  till  he  comes  to  glory,  works /or  as 
as  well  as /7-om  life. 

"  3.  We  have  received  it  as  a  maxim,  that  '  a  man  is 
to  do  nothing  in  order  to  justification.'  Nothing  can  be 
more  false.  Whoever  desires  to  find  favour  with  God 
should  '  cease  from  evil,  and  learn  to  do  well.'  Whoever 
repents  should  do  '  works  meet  for  repentance.'  And  if 
this  is  not  in  order  to  find  favour,  what  does  he  do  them  for  ? 

"  Review  the  whole  affair. 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


217 


*'  1.  Who  of  us  is  now  accepted  of  God  1 
"  He  that  now  believes  in  Christ,  with  a  loving  and  obedi- 
ent heart. 

"  2.  But  who  among  those  that  never  heard  of  Christ  ? 

"  He  that  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteousness,  accord- 
ing to  the  light  he  has. 

"  3.  Is  this  the  same  with  '  he  that  is  sincere  V 

"  Nearly,  if  not  quite. 

"  4.  Is  not  this  '  salvation  by  works  V 

"  Not  by  the  merit  of  works,  but  by  worka  as  a  condition, 

"  5.  What  have  we  then  been  disputing  about  for  these 
thirty  years  ? 

"  I  am  afraid,  about  words. 

"  6.  The  grand  objection  to  one  of  the  preceding  propo- 
sitions is  drawn  from  the  matter  of  fact.  God  does  in  fact 
justify  those  who,  by  their  own  confession,  neither  feared 
God  nor  wrought  righteousness.  Is  this  an  exception  to 
the  general  rule? 

"  It  is  a  doubt,  whether  God  makes  any  exception  at  all. 
But  how  are  we  sure,  that  the  person  in  question  never  did 
fear  God  and  work  righteousness?  His  own  saying  so  la 
not  proof:  for  we  know  how  all  that  are  convinced  of  sin 
undervalue  themselves  in  every  respect. 

"  7.  Does  not  talking  of  a  justified  or  a  sanctified  b-teti^ 
tend  to  mislead  men  ?  almost  naturally  leading  them  to 
trust  in  what  was  done  in  one  moment?  Whereas  we  are 
every  hour  and  every  moment  pleasing  or  displeasing  to 
God, '  according  to  our  works  — according  to  the  whole  of 
our  inward  tempers,  and  our  outward  behaviour." 

That  these  were  passages  calculated  to  awaken  suspicion, 
and  that  they  gave  the  appearance  cf  inconsistency  to  Mri 
Wesley's  opinions,  and  indicated  a  lerdency  to  run  to  one 
extreme,  in  order  to  avoid  another, — an  error  which  Mr. 
Wesley  more  generally  avoided  than  most  men, — cannot  be 
denied.  They,  however,  when  fairly  examined,  expressed 
nothing  but  what  was  found  in  substance  in  the  doctrinal 
conversations  at  the  conferences  from  1744  to  1747 ;  but 
the  sentiments  were  put  in  a  stronger  form,  and  were  made 
to  bear  directly  against  the  Antinomian  opinions  of  the  day. 
To  "  man's  faithfulness"  nothing  surely  could  be  reasonably 
objected  ;  it  is  enjoined  upon  believers  ui  the  whole  Gospel, 


218 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


and  might  have  been  known  by  the  objectors  to  have  been  al- 
v^ays  held  by  Mr-Wesley,  but  so  as  necessarily  to  imply  a 
constant  dependance  upon  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
That  the  rewards  of  eternity  are  also  to  be  distributed  in  high- 
er or  lower  degrees  according  to  the  obedient  works  of  be- 
lievers, yet  still  on  a  principle  of  ^race,  is  a  doctrine  held  by 
divines  of  almost  every  class,  and  is  confirmed  by  many  pas- 
sages of  scripture.  To  the  Antinoraian  notion,  that  a  man 
is  to  do  nothing  in  order  to  justification,  Mr.  Wesley  oppo- 
ses the  same  sentiment  which  he  held  in  1744,  that  previous- 
ly to  justification,  men  must  repent,  and,  if  there  be  opportu- 
nity, do  works  meet  for  repentance ;  and  when  he  asks,  "  if 
they  do  them  not  in  order  to  justification,  what  do  they  do 
them  for?" — these  words  are  far  enougli  from  intimating  that 
such  works  are  meritorious,  although  they  are  capable  of 
being  misunderstood.  Repentance  is  indeed  a  condition  of 
justification,  as  well  as  faith,  but  indirectly  and  remotely, — 
"  Repent  ye,  and  believe  the  Gospel ;"  and  seeing  that  Mr. 
Wesley,  so  expressly  in  the  same  page,  shuts  out  the  merit 
of  works,  no  one  could  be  justly  offended  with  this  state- 
ment (except  as  far  as  the  phrase  is  concerned)  who  did  not 
embrace  some  obvious  form  of  practical  error. 

The  doctrine  of  the  acceptance  of  such  heathens  as  "  fear 
God  and  work  righteousness,"  might  be  offensive  to  those 
who  shut  out  all  heathens,  as  such,  from  the  mercies  of 
God, — a  tenet,  however,  which  is  not  necessarily  connected 
with  Calvinism;  and  it  ought  not  to  have  been  objected  to 
by  others,  unless  Mr.  Wesley  had  stated,  as  some  of  his 
opponents  understood  him  to  do,  that  "  a  heathen  might  be 
saved  without  a  Saviour."  No  such  thought  was  ever  enter- 
tained by  him,  as  Mr.  Fletcher  observes  in  his  defence;  for 
he  held  that  whenever  a  heathen  is  accepted,  it  is  merely 
through  the  merits  of  Christ,  although  it  is  in  connexion 
with  "  his  fearing  God,  and  working  righteousness."  "  'But 
how  comes  he  to  see  that  God  is  to  be  feared,  and  that 
righteousness  is  his  delight  ?'  Because  a  beam  of  our  Sun 
of  righteousness  shines  in  his  darkness.  All  is  therefore  of 
grace ;  the  light,  the  works  of  righteousness  done  by  that 
light,  and  acceptance  in  consequence  of  them."* 

^  *  Fletcher's  works.  '  '  -  _^  j 


LIFE  OF  WEdLEY. 


219 


But  when  the  minutes  went  on  to  state  that  this  shows 
that  salvation  is  by  works  as  a  "  ccmdition,  though  not  by  the 
merit  of  works,"  the  highest  point  of  heresy  was  supposed 
to  be  reached.  Yet  from  tliis  charge,  though  it  derived 
some  colour  from  a  paradoxical  mode  of  expression  not  to 
be  commended,  Mr.  Fletcher  brings  off  his  friend  unhurt : — 

"  Our  church  expresses  herself  more  fully  on  this  head  in 
the  Homily  on  Salvation,  to  which  the  article  refers.  '  St. 
Paul,'  says  she, '  declares  nothing  (necessary)  on  the  behalf 
of  man  concerning  his  justification,  but  only  a  true  and  live- 
ly faith,  and  3'et  (N.  B.)  that  faith  docs  not  shut  out  repent- 
ance, hope,  love,  (of  desire  when  we  are  coming,  love  of  de- 
light when  we  are  come.)  dread,  and  the  fear  of  God,  to  be 
joined  with  it  in  every  man  that  is  justified;  but  it  shutteth 
them  out  from  the  office  of  justifying ;  so  that  they  be  all 
present  together  in  him  that  is  justified,  yet  they  justify  not 
all  together.'  This  is  agi-eeable  to  St.  Peter's  doctrine,  main- 
tained by  Mr.  Wesley.  Only  faith  in  Christ  for  Christians, 
and  faith  in  the  light  of  their  dispensation  for  heathens,  is 
necessary  in  order  to  acceptance.  But  though  faith  only 
justifies,  yet  it  is  never  alone ;  for  repentance,  hope,  love  of 
desire,  and  the  fear  of  God,  necessarily  accompany  this  faith, 
if  it  be  living.  Our  church  therefore  is  not  at  all  against 
works  proceeding  from,  or  accompanying,  faith  in  all  its 
stages.  She  gi-ants,  that  whether  faith  seeks  or  finds  its  ob- 
ject, whether  it  longs  for  or  embraces  it,  it  is  still  a  lively, 
active,  and  working  grace.  She  is  only  against  the  vain 
conceit  that  works  have  any  hand  in  mer?<n!o- justification 
or  'purchasing  salvation,  which  is  what  Mr.  Wesley  likewise 
strongly  opposes. 

"  If  any  still  urge, '  I  do  not  love  the  word  condition,'  I 
reply,  it  is  no  wonder;  since  thousands  so  hate  the  thing, 
that  they  even  choose  to  go  to  hell,  rather  than  perform  it. 
But  let  an  old  worthy  divine,  approved  by  aU  but  Crisp's 
disciples,  tell  you  what  we  mean  by  condition :  '  An  ante- 
cedent condition  (says  Mr.  Flavel,  in  his  Discourse  of  Er- 
rors) signifies  no  more  than  an  act  of  ours,  which,  though  it 
be  neither  perfect  in  any  degree,  nor  in  the  least  meritorious 
of  the  benefit  conferred,  nor  performed  in  our  own  natural 
strength,  is  yet,  according  to  the  constitution  of  the  cove- 
nant, required  of  us,  in  order  to  the  blessings  consequent 


220 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


thereupon,  by  virtue  of  the  promise;  and  conseqtiently, 
benefits  and  mercies  granted  in  this  order  are  and  must  be 
suspended  by  the  donor,  till  it  be  performed.'  Such  a  con- 
dition we  afiirm  faith  to  be,  with  ail  that  faith  necessarily 
imphes."* 

The  greatest  stone  of  stumbling  was,  however,  the  re- 
marks on  merit : — 

"  As  to  merit  itself,  of  which  we  have  been  so  dreadfully 
afraid :  we  are  rewarded  '  according  to  our  works,'  yea, 
'  because  of  our  works.'  How  does  this  differ  from, '  for  the 
sake  of  our  works?'  And  how  differs  this  from  secundum 
mer-ita  operum, '  as  our  works  deserve  V  Can  you  split  this 
hair  ?    I  doubt  I  cannot." 

The  outcry  of  "  dreadful  heresy"  raised  against  him,  par- 
ticularly on  this  article,  was  the  more  uncandid,  because  by 
explaining  the  phrase  secundum  mer-ita  operum,  to  mean,  as 
our  wor-ks  deserve,  it  was  clear,  especially  taking  the  passage 
in  connexion  with  what  he  had  previously  stated,  that  he 
understood  merit  in  that  loose,  and  not  perhaps  always  cor- 
rect, sense  in  which  it  had  often  been  used  by  several  of  the 
ancient  fathers ;  and  also  that  he  was  not  speaking  of  our 
present  justification,  but  of  our  final  reward.  But  here  Mr. 
Fletcher  shall  again  be  heard : — 

"  If  Mr.  Wesley  meant,  that  we  are  saved  by  the  merit  of 
works,  and  not  entirely  by  that  of  Christ,  you  might  exclaim 
against  his  proposition  as  erroneous  ;  and  I  would  echo  back 
your  exclamation.  But  as  he  flatly  denies  it  in  those  words, 
'  Not  by  the  merit  of  works,'  and  has  constantly  asserted  the 
contrary  for  above  thirty  years,  we  cannot,  without  mon- 
strous injustice,  fix  that  sense  upon  the  word  merit  in  this 
paragraph. 

"  Divesting  himself  of  bigotry  and  party-spirit,  he  gener- 
ously acknowledges  truth  even  when  it  is  held  forth  by  his 
adversaries :  an  instance  of  candour  worthy  of  our  imitation ! 
He  sees  that  God  offers  and  gives  his  children,  here  on  earth, 
particular  rewards  for  particular  instances  of  obedience. 
He  knows  that  when  a  man  is  saved  meritoriously  by 
Christ,  and  conditionally  hy  (or,  if  you  please,  upon  thetei'ms 
of)  the  work  of faith,  tlie  patience  of  hope,  and  the  labour  of 

♦  Fletcher's  works. 


LIKE  OF  WESLEY. 


221 


love,  he  shall  particularly  be  rewarded  in  heaven  for  his 
works:  and  he  observes,  that  the  Scriptures  steadily  main- 
tain, we  are  recompensed  according  to  our  works,  yea,  be- 
cause of  our  works. 

"  The  former  of  these  assertions  is  plain  from  the  parable 
of  the  talents,  and  from  these  words  of  our  Lord,  Matt.  xvi. 
27,  '  The  Son  of  man  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father, 
and  reward  every  man  according  to  liis  works unbelievers 
according  to  the  various  degrees  of  demerit  belonging  to  their 
(-vil  works ;  (for  some  of  them  shall  comparatively '  be  beat- 
en with  few  stripes  ;')  and  believers  according  to  the  various 
degrees  of  excellence  found  in  their  good  works;  '  for  as  one 
star  differeth  from  another  star  in  glory,  so  also  is  the  resur- 
rection of  the'  righteous  '  dead.' 

"  If  we  detach  from  the  word  merit  the  idea  of '  obligation 
on  God's  part  to  bestow  any  thing  upon  creatures,  who  have 
a  thousand  times  forfeited  their  comforts  and  existence,' — 
if  we  take  it  in  the  sense  we  fix  to  it  in  a  hundred  cases  ; 
lor  instance  this  :  '  A  master  may  reward  his  scholars  ac- 
cording to  the  meiHt  of  their  exercises,  or  he  may  not :  for 
ilie  merit  of  the  best  exercise  can  never  bind  him  to  bestow  a 
jiremium  for  it,  unless  he  has  promised  it  of  his  own  ac- 
cord,'— if  we  take,  I  say,  the  word  merit  in  this  simple  sense, 
I  may  be  joined  to  the  woxA  good  works,  and  bear  an  evan- 
.  lical  meaning. 

"  To  be  convinced  of  it,  candid  reader,  consider,  with  Mr. 
Wesley,  that '  God  accepts  and  rewards  no  work  but  so  far 
as  it  proceeds  from  his  own  grace  through  the  Beloved.' 
Forget  not  that  Christ's  Spirit  is  the  savour  of  each  believer's 
salt,  and  that  he  puts  excellence  into  the  good  works  of  his 
people,  or  else  they  could  not  hQ  good.  Remember,  he  is  as 
much  concerned  in  the  good  tempers,  words,  and  actions,  of 
his  living  members,  as  a  tree  is  concerned  in  the  sap,  leaves, 
and  fniit  of  the  branches  it  bears,  John  xv.  5.  Consider,  I 
say,  all  this,  and  tell  us  whether  it  can  retlect  dishonour  upon 
Christ  and  his  grace,  to  afTirm,  that  as  his  personal  merit — 
the  merit  of  his  holy  life  and  painful  death — '  opens  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  to  all  believers ;'  so  the  merit  of  those  works 
which  he  enables  his  members  to  do,  will  determine  the  pe- 
culiar degrees  of  glory  graciously  allotted  to  each  of  them."* 

♦  Fletcher's  works. 
19* 


222 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


Mr.  Fletcher  came  forward  to  defend  his  venerable  friend, 
on  account  of  the  great  uproar  which  the  Calvinistic  party 
had  raised  against  liim  upon  the  publication  of  these  minutes. 
The  countess  of  Huntingdon  had  taken  serious  alarm  and 
offence ;  and  the  Rev.  Walter  Shirley,  her  brother  and  chap- 
lain, had  written  a  circular  letter  to  all  the  serious  clergy, 
and  several  others,  inviting  them  to  go  in  a  body  to  tlie  en- 
suing conference,  and  "  insist  upon  a  formal  recantation  of 
the  said  minutes,  and,  in  case  of  refusal,  to  sign  and  pubhsh 
their  protest  against  them."  Mr.  Shirley  and  a  few  others 
accordingly  attended  the  Bristol  conference,  where,  says 
Mr.  Wesley,  "  We  had  more  preachers  than  usual  in  conse- 
quence of  Mr.  Shirley's  circular  letter.  At  ten  on  Thin-sday 
morning  he  came,  with  nine  or  ten  of  his  friends:  we  con- 
versed freely  for  about  two  hours;  and,  I  believe,  they  were 
(satisfied,  that  we  were  not  such  '  dreadful  heretics'  as  they 
imagined,  but  were  tolerably  sound  in  the  faith." 

The  meeting  was  creditable  to  each  party.  Mr.  Wesley 
acknowledged  that  the  minutes  were  "  not  sufficiently  guard- 
ed." This  must  be  felt  by  all ;  they  were  out  of  his  usual 
manner  of  expressing  himself,  and  he  had  said  the  same 
truths  often  in  a  clearer,  and  safer,  and  even  stronger  man- 
ner. He  certainly  did  not  mean  to  alter  his  previous  opi- 
nions, or  formally  to  adopt  other  terms  in  which  to  express 
them ;  and  therefore  to  employ  new  modes  of  speaking, 
though  for  a  temporary  purpose,  was  not  Avithout  danger, 
although  they  wer^  capable  of  an  innocent  explanation. 
Even  Mr.  Fletcher  confesses  that  the  minutes  wore  "  a  new 
aspect ;"  and  that  at  first  they  appeared  to  him  "  unguard- 
ed, if  not  erroneous."  Mr.  Wesley  showed  his  candour  in 
admitting  the  former ;  and  to  prevent  all  future  misconstruc- 
tion, he  and  the  conference  issued  the  following  "  Declara- 
tion," to  which  was  appended  a  note  from  Mr.  Shirley,  ac- 
knowledging his  mistake  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  minutes; 

"Bristol,  August  9,  1771. 
"  Whereas  the  doctrinal  points  in  the  minutes  of  a  con 
ference,  held  in  London,  August  7,  1770,  have  been  mider- 
stood  to  favour  '  justification  by  works :'  now  the  Rev.  Jolin 
Wesley  and  others,  assembled  in  conference,  do  declare,  that 
we  had  no  such  meaning;  and  that  we  abhor  the  doctrine 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


223 


of 'justification  by  works,'  as  a  most  perilous  and  abomina- 
ble doctrine.  And  as  the  said  minutes  are  not  sufficiently- 
guarded  in  the  way  they  are  expressed,  we  hereby  solemnly 
declare,  in  the  sight  of  God,  that  we  have  no  trust  or  confi- 
dence but  in  the  alone  merits  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ  for  justification  or  salvation,  either  in  life,  death,  or 
the  day  of  judgment.  And  though  no  one  is  a  real  Chris- 
tian believer  (and  consequently  cannot  be  saved)  who  doeth 
not  good  works,  where  there  is  time  and  opportunity ;  yet 
our  works  have  no  part  in  meriting  or  purchasing  our  justi- 
fication, from  first  to  last,  either  in  whole  or  in  part. 

"  Signed  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wesley  and  fifty-three  preach- 
ers."* 

*  This  affair  is  capable  of  more  illustration  than  it  has  "received 
from  Mr.  "Wesley's  biographers  hitherto.  Mr.  Shirley's  circular 
letter  was  naturally  resented  by  Mr.  "Wesley,  as  being  published  be- 
fore any  explanations  respecting  the  minutes  had  been  asked  from 
him  their  author ;  and  also  from  its  assuming  that  Mr.  S.,  and  the 
clergy  who  might  obey  his  summons,  had  the  right  to  come  into  the 
conference,  and  to  demand  a  recantation.  Mr.  Shirley,  therefore, 
soon  found,  that  he  must  approach  in  a  more  brotherly  manner,  or 
that  Mr.  "Wesley  and  the  conference  would  have  no  intercourse  with 
him.  This  led  Lady  Huntingdon  and  Mr.  Shirley  to  address 
explanatory  letters  to  Mr.  "Wesley.  "  As  the  method  of  proceeding, 
as  well  as  the  terms  in  which  we  had  delivered  ourselves,"  says  Mr. 
Shirley,  "  was  objected  to  by  many  as  by  no  means  proper,  and  in 
submission  to  the  precept,  '  Give  no  offence  to  Jew  or  Gentile,  or  to 
the  church  of  God,'  Lady  Huntingdon  and  1  wrote  the  following 
letters,  which  were  delivered  to  Mr.  Wesley  the  evening  before  the 
conference  met."  Lady  Huntingdon  says,  "  As  ynu  and  your 
I'ricnds,  and  many  others,  have  objected  to  the  mode  of  the  applica- 
tion to  you  in  conference,  as  an  arbitrary  way  of  proceeding,  we 
wish  to  retract  what  a  more  deliberate  consideration  might  have  pre- 
vented," &c.  Mr.  Shirley's  letter  acknowledges  "t*at  the  circular 
was,  too  hastily  drawn  up,  and  improperly  expressed  ;  and  therefore, 
li^ir  the  offensive  expressions  in  it  we  desire  we  may  be  hereby  under- 
t^tood  to  make  every  suitable  submission  to  you."  On  this  explana- 
tion, Mr.  Shirley  and  his  friends  were  invited  by  Mr.  "Wesley,  to 
come  to  the  conference  on  the  third  day  of  its  sitting.  Mr.  Shirley's 
published  narrative  thus  proceeds, — "  To  say  the  truth,  I  was  pleased 
that  the  invitation  came  from  Mr.  Wesley,  without  any  application 
made  on  our  parts,  that  there  might  not  be  left  the  least  room  for  cen- 
Buring  our  proceedings  as  violent.  On  that  day  therefore,  I  went 
thither,  accompanied  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Glascot,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Owen, 
(two  ininistera  officiating  in  Lady  Huntingdon's  chapels,)  John 


224 


LIFE  or  WESLEY. 


MR.  Shirley's  note. 
"  Mr.  Shirley's  Christian  respects  wait  on  Mr.  Wesley. 
The  declaration  agreed  to  in  conference  the  8th  of  August, 
1771,  has  convinced  Mr.  Shirley  he  had  mistaken  the  mean- 
ing of  the  doctrinal  points  in  the  minutes  of  the  conference 

Lloyd,  Esq.,  of  Bath  ;  Mr.  James  Ireland,  merchant  of  Bristol ;  Mr. 
Winter,  and  two  students  belonging  to  Lady  Huntingdon's  college. 

"  I  shall  only  give  you  a  brief  detail  of  what  passed,  and  ratber 
the  substance  of  what  was  spoken,  than  the  exact  words ;  omitting 
likewise  many  things  of  no  great  weight  or  consequence. 

"  After  Mr.  Wesley  had  prayed,  I  desired  to  know  whether 
Lady  Huntingdon's  letter  and  mine  to  Mr.  Wesley  had  been  read 
to  the  conference.  Being  answered  in  the  negative,  I  begged  leave 
to  read  the  copies  of  them  ;  which  was  granted.  I  then  said  that  1 
hoped  the  submission  made  was  satisfactory  to  the  gentlemen  of 
the  conference.  This  was  admitted  ;  but  then  it  was  urged,  that 
as  the  offence  given  by  the  circular  letter  had  been  very  public,  so 
ought  the  letter  of  submission.  1  therefore  readily  consented  to 
the  publication  of  it,  and  have  now  fulfilled  my  promise.  Mr. 
Wesley  then  stood  up ;  the  purport  of  his  speech  was  a  sketch  of 
his  ministry  from  his  first  setting  out  to  the  present  time  ;  with  a 
view  (as  I  understood)  to  prove  that  he  had  ever  maintained  justi- 
fication by  faith,  and  that  there  was  nothing  in  the  minutes  con- 
trary thereunto.  He  complained  of  ill-treatment  from  many  persons, 
that  he  apprehended  had  been  under  obligations  to  him ;  and  said 
that  the  present  opposition  was  not  to  the  minutes  ;  but  to  himself 
personally. — In  answer  I  assured  them  in  the  most  solemn  manner, 
that,  with  respect  to  myself,  my  opposition  was  not  to  Mr.  Wesley, 
or  any  particular  person,  but  to  the  doctrines  themselves.— And  they 
were  pleased  thus  far  to  give  me  credit. — I  then  proceeded  to  speak 
to  the  point ;  inlbrmed  them  of  the  great  and  general  offence  the 
nimutcs  had  given ;  that  I  had  numerous  protests  and  testimonies 
against  them  sent  me  from  Scotland,  and  from  various  parts  of  these 
kingdoms  ;  that  it  must  seem  very  extraordinary  indeed,  if  so  many 
men  of  sense  afld  learning  should  be  mistaken,  and  that  there  was 
nothing  really  offensive  in  the  plain  natural  import  of  the  minutes ; 
that  I  believed  they  themselves  (whatever  meaning  they  might 
have  intended")  would  allow  that  the  more  obvious  meaning  was  re- 
prehensible ;  and,  therefore,  I  recommended  to  them,  nay  I  begged, 
and  entreated  for  the  Lord's  sake,  that  they  would  go  as  far  as  they 
could  with  a  good  conscience,  in  giving  the  world  satisfaction.  I 
said  I  hoped  they  would  not  take  offence,  (for  1  did  not  mean  to  give 
it,)  at  my  proposing  to  them  a  declaration  which  I  had  drawn  up, 
wishing  that  something  at  least  analogous  to  it  might  be  agreed  to.  1 
then  took  the  liberty  to  read  it ;  and  Mr.  Wesley,  after  he  had  made 
some  (not  very  material)  alterations  in  it,  readily  consented  to  sign  it ; 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


225 


held  in  London,  August  7,  1770 ;  and  he  hereby  wishes  to 
testify  the  full  satisfaction  he  has  in  the  said  declaration,  and 
his  hearty  concurrence  and  agreement  with  the  same. 

in  which  he  was  followed  by  fifty-three  of  the  preachers  in  connexion 
with  him  ;  there  being  only  one  or  two  that  were  against  it. 

"  Thus  was  this  most  important  matter  settled.  But  one  of  the  preach- 
ers (namely,  Mr.  Thomas  Olivers)  kept  us  a  long  time  in  debate ; 
strenuously  opposed  the  declaration  :  and  to  the  last  would  not  con- 
sent to  sign  it.  He  maintained  that  our  second  justification  (that  is, 
at  the  day  of  judgment)  is  by  works ;  and  he  saw  very  clearly  that 
for  one  that  holds  that  tenet  solemnly  '  to  declare  in  the  sight  of  God 
that  he  has  no  trust  or  confidence  but  in  the  alone  merits  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  .Tesus  Christ,  for  justification  or  salvation,  either  in  life, 
death,  or  the  day  of  judgment,'  would  be  acting  neither  a  consistent, 
nor  an  upright  part ;  for  all  the  subtiltics  of  metaphysical  distinction 
can  never  reconcile  tenets  so  diametrically  opposite  as  these.  But, 
blessed  be  Gotl,  Mr.  "Wesley,  and  fifty-three  of  his  preachers,  do  not 
agree  with  Mr.  Olivers  in  tliis  material  article ;  for  it  appears  from 
thoir  subscribing  the  declaration,  that  they  do  not  maintain  a  second 
ju.stification  by  works. 

"  After  the  de<;laration  had  been  agreed  to,  it  was  required  of  me, 
on  my  part,  that  I  would  make  some  public  acknowledgment  that  I 
liad  mistaken  the  meaning  of  the  minutes.  Heie  1  hesitated  a  little  ; 
for  though  I  was  desirous  to  do  every  tiling  (consistently  with  truth 
and  a  good  conscience)  for  the  establishment  of  peace  and  Christian 
fellowship  ;  yet  I  was  very  unwilling  to  give  any  thing  under  my 
hand  that  might  seem  to  countenance  the  minutes  in  their  obvious 
sense.  But  then,  when  I  was  asked  by  one  of  the  preachers  whether 
I  did  not  believe  Mr.  Wesley  to  be  an  honest  man  ;  I  was  distressed 
on  the  other  hand,  lest,  by  refusing  wliat  was  desired,  I  should  seem 
to  infer  a  doubt  to  Mr.  Wesley's  disadvantage.  Having  confidence, 
therefore,  in  Mr.  Wesley's  integrity,  who  had  declared  he  had  no 
Buch  meaning  in  the  minutes,  as  was  favourable  to  justification  by 
works  ;  and,  considering  that  every  man  is  the  best  judge  of  his  own 
meaning,  and  has  a  right,  so  far,  to  our  credit,  and  that,  though  no- 
thing else  could,  yet  the  declaration  did  convince  me,  they  had  some 
other  meaning  than  what  appeared  ; — I  say,  (these  things  considered,) 
I  promised  them  satisfaction  in  tliis  particular;  and,  a  few  days  after- 
wards, sent  Mr.  Wesley  the  following  message,  with  which  he  was 
very  well  pleased : — 

[Then  follows  Mr.  Shirley's  note  as  given  above.] 

"  Thus  far  all  was  well. — The  foundation  was  secured. — And, 
with  respect  to  lesser  matters  of  difference,  we  might  well  bear  with 
one  another:  and  if  either  party  should  see  occa.sion  to  oppose  the 
other's  peculiar  opinion,  it  might  be  done  without  vehemence,  and 
without  using  any  reproachful  terms.  The  whole  was  conducted 
with  great  decency  on  all  sides.  We  concluded  with  prayer,  and  with 
the  wannest  indications  of  mutual  peace  and  love.    For  my  own 


226 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


"Mr.  Wesley  is  at  full  liberty  to  make  ivhat  use  he  pleases 
of  this. 
"  August  10,  1771." 

Mr.  Fletcher  had  entitled  his  defence  of  Mr.  Wesley  "  The 
first  check  to  Antinomianism;"  but  he  did  not  content  him- 
self with  ecangelizhig  the  apparently  legal  minutes,  and 
defending  the  doctrinal  consistency  and  orthodoxy  of  Mr. 
Wesley.  He  incidentally  discussed  various  other  points  of 
quinquarticular  controversy ;  and  he,  as  well  as  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, was  quickly  assailed  by  a  number  of  replies  not  couched 
in  the  most  courteous  style.  Mr.  Fletcher's  skill  and  admi- 
rable temper  so  fully  fitted  him  to  conduct  the  dispute  which 
had  arisen,  that  Mr.  Wesley  left  the  contest  chiefly  to  him, 
and  calmly  pursued  his  labours ;  and  the  whole  issued  in  a 
series  of  publications,  from  the  pen  of  the  Vicar  of  Madeley, 
which,  as  a  whole,  can  scarcely  be  too  .highly  praised  or 
valued.*  While  the  language  endures,  they  will  effectually 
operate  as  checks  to  Antinomianism  in  every  subtle  forni 
which  it  may  assume ;  and  present  the  pure  and  beautiful 
system  of  evangelical  truth,  as  well  guarded  on  the  other 
hand  against  Pelagian  self-sufficiency.  The  Rev.  Augustus 
Toplady,  Mr.  (afterward  Sir  llichard)  Hill,  and  his  brother, 
the  Rev.  Rowland  Hill,  with  the  Rev.  John  Berridge,  were 
his  principal  antagonists;  but  his  learning,  his  acuteness, 
his  brilliant  talent  at  illustrating  an  argument,  and,  above 
all,  the  hallowed  spirit  in  which  he  conducted  the  contro- 
versy, gave  him  a  mighty  superiority  over  his  opponents; 
and  although  there  will  be  a  difference  of  opinion,  according 
to  the  systems  which  different  readers  have  adopted,  as  to 

part,  believe  me,  I  was  perfectly  sincere ;  and  thought  this  one  of  the 
happiest,  and  most  honourable  days  of  my  life." 

The  whole  conduct  of  Mr.  Shirley,  in  this  affair,  affords  a  pleasing 
contrast  to  that  of  the  Hills,  Toplady,  and  others,  who  soon  rushed 
hot  and  reckless  into  the  controversy.  Mr.  Shirley,  it  is  true,  com- 
plains, that,  after  this  adjustment,  Mr.  Fletcher  should  have  so  se- 
verely attacked  him  in  his  five  letters ;  but  he  appears  never  to  have 
departed  from  the  meekness  of  a  Christian,  and  the  manners  of  a 
gentleman. 

♦  It  ought  to  be  observed,  that  Mr.  Fletcher's  writings  are  not  to  be 
considered,  in  every  particular,  as  expressing  the  views  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, and  the  body  of  Methodists ;  and  that,  though  greatly  admired 
among  ns,  they  are  not  reckoned  among  the  standards  of  our  doctrines. 


tlFE  OF  WESLEY. 


227 


the  side  on  which  the  victory  of  argmwit  remains,  there 
can  be  none  as  to  which  bore  away  the  prize  of  temper. 
Amidst  the  scurrilities  and  vulgar  abuse  of  Mr.  Toplady, 
otherwise  an  able  writer,  and  a  man  of  learning,  and  the 
coarse  virulence  or  buffoonery  of  the  Hills  and  Berridge,*  it 
is  refreshing  to  remark,  in  the  writings  of  "the  saintly 
Fletcher,"  so  fine  a  union  of  strength  and  meekness ;  an 
edge  so  keen,  and  yet  so  smooth ;  and  a  heart  kept  in  such 
perfect  charity  with  his  assailants,  and  so  intent  upon  es- 
tablishing truth,  not  for  victory,  but  for  salvation. 

In  this  dispute,  Mr.  Wesley  wrote  but  little,  and  that 
chiefly  in  defence  of  his  own  consistency,  in  reply  to  Mr. 
Hill.  His  pamphlets  also  are  models  of  temper,  logical  and 
calm,  but  occasionally  powerfully  reproving  ;  not  so  much 
as  feeling  that  he  had  received  abuse  and  insult,  as  holding  it 
his  duty  to  bring  the  aggressor  to  a  due  sense  of  his  own 
misdoings.  The  conclusion  of  his  first  reply  to  Mr.  Hill  is 
a  strong  illustration : — 

"  Having  now  answered  the  queries  you  proposed,  suffer 
me,  sir,  to  propose  one  to  you  ;  the  same  which  a  gentleman 

*  The  titles  of  several  of  the  pieces,  written  by  Toplady  and  others, 
such  as  "  An  old  Fox  tarred  and  feathered  ;"  "  The  Serpent  and  the 
Fox  ;"  "  Pope  John,"  &c. ;  are  sufficient  evidences  of  the  temper  and 
iiinnner  of  this  band  of  controversialists.  In  what  the  Rev.  Rowland 
Hill  calls  "  Some  Gentle  Strictures''  on  a  sermon  by  Mr.  Wesley, 
jireac.hcd  on  laying  the  foundation-stone  of  the  city  road  chapel,  Mr. 
AVcslcy  is  subjected  to  certain  not  \cTy  gentle  objurgations,  which  it 
would  be  too  sickening  a  task  to  copy  or  to  read.  The  Gospel  Maga- 
zine, so  called,  was  equally  unmeasured  in  its  abuse,  and  as  vulgar; 
but,  to  do  justice  to  all  parties,  the  Calvinists  even  of  that  day  disap- 
proved of  this  publication,  and  it  was  given  up.  Even  Mr.  Rowland 
Hill  appears  to  have  incurred  the  displeasure  of  some  of  his  brethren ; 
f  >r  in  a  second  edition  of  his  "  Gentle  Strictures,"  he  explains  him- 
•  If— awkwardly  enough,  certainly — that  when  he  called  Mr.  Wesley 

wretch,"  and  "miscreant,"  they  must  remembr^r  that  "wretch" 
;  ans  "  an  ur.happy  person  ;"  and  "  miscreant,"  "  one  whose  belief 
IS  wrong !"  We  have  happily  no  recent  instances  of  equally  un- 
brotherly  and  unchristian  temper  in  connexion  with  this  controversy, 
except  in  the  bitter  and  unsanctified  spirit  of  Bogue  and  Bennett's 
History  of  the  Dissenters.  The  two  doctors,  however,  were  in  the 
habit  of  declining  the  merit  of  the  passages  on  Methodism,  in  favour 
of  each  other ;  and  to  which  of  them  the  honour  of  the  authorship  is 
due,  has  never  yet,  I  believe,  been  ascertained. — "  Where  there  is 
shame,"  says  Dr.  Johnson,  "  there  may  in  time  be  virtue." 


228 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


of  your  own  opinion  proposed  to  me  some  years  since 
'  Sir,  how  is  it  that  as  soon  as  a  man  comes  to  the  know 
ledge  of  THE  TRUTH,  it  spoils  his  temper?'  That  it  does  so 
I  had  observed  over  and  over,  as  well  as  Mr.  J.  had.  But 
how  can  we  account  for  it  ?  Has  the  truth  (so  Mr.  J.  term- 
ed wliat  many  love  to  term  the  doctrine  of  free-grace)  a  na- 
tural tendency  to  spoil  the  temper  ?  To  inspire  pride, 
haughtiness,  superciliousness  ?  To  make  a  man  '  wiser  in 
his  own  eyes  than  seven  men  that  can  render  a  reason?' 
Does  it  naturally  turn  a  man  into  a  cynic,  a  bear,  a  Topla- 
dy?  Does  it  at  once  set  him  free  from  all  the  restraints  of 
good  nature,  decency,  and  good  manners?  Cannot  a  man 
hold  distinguishing  grace,  as  it  is  called,  but  he  must  dis- 
tinguish himself  for  passion,  sourness,  bitterness?  Must  a 
man,  as  soon  as  he  looks  upon  himself  to  be  an  absolute  fa- 
vourite of  heaven,  look  upon  all  that  oppose  him  as  Diabo- 
lonians,  as  predestinated  dogs  of  hell  ?  Truly,  the  melan- 
choly instance  now  before  us  Avould  almost  induce  us  to 
think  so.  For  who  was  of  a  more  amiable  temper  than  Mr. 
Hill,  a  few  years  ago  ?  When  I  first  conversed  with  him  in 
London,  I  thought  I  had  seldom  seen  a  man  of  fortune  who 
appeared  to  be  of  a  more  humble,  modest,  gentle,  friendly 
disposition.  And  yet  this  same  Mr.  H.,  when  he  has  once 
been  grounded  in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  is  of  a  tem- 
per as  totally  different  from  this,  as  light  is  from  darkness ! 
He  is  now  haughty,  supercilious,  disdaining  his  opponents, 
as  unworthy  to  be  set  with  the  dogs  of  his  flock !  He  is 
violent,  impetuous,  bitter  of  spirit !  In  a  word,  the  author 
of  the  review ! 

"  O,  sir,  what  a  commendation  is  this  of  your  doctrine? 
Look  at  Mr.  Hill  the  Arminian !  The  loving,  amiable, 
generous,  friendly  man.  Look  at  Mr.  Hill  the  Calvimst ! 
Is  it  the  same  person  ?  this  spiteful,  morose,  touchy  man  ? 
Alas !  what  has  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  done  ?  What 
a  deplorable  change  has  "it  made?  Sir,  I  love  you  still, 
though  I  cannot  esteem  you,  as  I  did  once.  Let  me  entreat 
you,  if  not  for  the  honour  of  God,  yet  for  the  honour  of 
your  cause,  avoid,  for  the  time  to  come,  all  anger,  all  spite, 
all  sourness  and  bitterness,  all  contemptuous  usage  of  your 
opponents,  not  inferior  to  you,  unless  in  fortune.  0,  put 
on  again  bowels  of  mercies,  kindness,  gentleness,  long-suf- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


229 


fcring;  endeavouring  to  hold,  even  with  them  that  differ 
from  you  in  opinion,  the  unity  of  the  Spu-it  in  the  bond  of 
peace !" 

This  controversy,  painful  as  it  was  in  many  respects,  and 
the  cause  of  much  unhallowed  joy  to  the  profane  wits  of  the 
day,  who  were  not  a  little  gratified  at  this  exhibition  of  what 
they  termed  "  spiritual  gladiatorship,"  has  been  productive 
of  important  consequences  in  this  country.  It  showed  to 
the  pious  and  moderate  Calvinists  how  well  the  richest 
views  of  evangelical  truth  could  be  united  with  Arminian- 
ism  ;  and  it  effected,  by  its  bold  and  fearless  exhibition  of 
the  logical  consequences  of  the  doctrines  of  the  decrees, 
much  greater  moderation  in  those  who  still  admitted  them, 
and  gave  birth  to  some  softened  modifications  of  Calvinism 
in  the  age  that  followed ; — an  effect  which  has  remained  to 
this  day.  The  disputes  on  these  subjects  have,  since  that 
time,  been  less  frequent,  and  more  temperate  ;  nor  have  good 
men  so  much  laboured  to  depart  to  the  greatest  distance 
from  each  other,  as  to  find  a  ground  on  which  they  could 
make  the  nearest  approaches.  Tliis  has  been  especially  the 
case  between  the  Methodists  and  tlie  evangelical  dissenters. 
Of  late  a  Calvinism  of  a  higher  and  sterner  form  has  sprung 
up  among  a  certain  sect  of  the  clergy  of  the  church  of  Eng- 
land ;  though  some  of  them,  whatever  their  private  theory 
may  be,  feel  that  these  points  are  not  fit  subjects  for  the  edi- 
fication of  their  congregations  in  public  discourses.  Of  Cal- 
\  inism  since  the  period  of  this  controversy  the  Methodist 
preachers  and  societies  have  been  in  no  danger ;  so  power- 
ful and  complete  was  its  effect  upon  them.  At  uo  conference, 
since  that  of  1770,  has  it  been  necessary  again  to  ask, 
"  wherein  have  we  leaned  too  much  to  Calvinism  ?"  There 
has  been  indeed,  not  in  the  body,  but  in  some  of  its  minis- 
ters occasionally,  a  leaning  to  what  is  worse  than  Calvinism, 
— to  a  sapless,  legal,  and  philosophizing  theology.  The  in- 
fluence of  the  opinions  of  the  majority  of  the  preachers  has 
always,  however,  counteracted  this;  and  the  true  balance 
1  let  ween  the  extremes  of  each  system,  as  set  up  in  the  doc- 
trinal writings  of  Mr.  Wesley,  has  been  of  late  years  better 
preserved  than  formerly.  Those  writings  are,  indeed,  more 
read  and  better  appreciated  in  the  connexion,  than  at  some 
former  periods;  and  perhaps  at  the  present  time  they  exert 


^0 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


a  more  powerful  influence  than  they  ever  did  over  the  theo- 
logical views  of  both  preachers  and  people.  To  this  the 
admirably  complete,  correct,  and  elegant  edition  of  Mr, 
Wesley's  works,  lately  put  forth  by  the  labour  and  judgment 
of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Jackson,  will  still  further  contribute. 
Numerous  valuable  pieces  on  different  subjects,  which  had 
been  quite  lost  to  the  public,  have  been  recovered ;  and  others, 
but  very  partially  known,  have  been  collected. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  controversies  and  cares,  the  so- 
cieties continued  to  spread  and  flourish  under  the  influence 
of  the  zeal  and  piety  of  the  preachers,  animated  by  the 
ceaseless  activity  and  regular  visits  of  Mr.  Wesley,  who, 
though  now  upwards  of  seventy  years  of  age,  seemed  to 
possess  his  natural  strength  unabated.*  His  thoughts  were, 
however,  frequently  turning  with  anxiety  to  some  arrange- 
ment for  the  government  of  the  connexion  after  his  death  ; 
and  not  being  satisfied  that  the  plan  he  had  sketched  out  a 
few  years  before  would  provide  for  a  case  of  so  nxich  conse- 
quence, he  directed  his  attention  to  Mr.  Fletcher,  and  warmly 
invited  him  to  come  forth  into  the  work,  and  to  allow  him- 
self to  be  introduced  by  him  to  the  societies  and  preachers 
as  their  future  head.  Earnestly  as  this  was  pressed,  Mr. 
Fletcher  could  not  be  induced  to  undertake  a  task  to  which, 
in  his  humility,  he  thought  himself  inadequate.  This  seems 
to  have  been  his  only  objection ;  but  had  he  accepted  the 
offer,  the  plan  would  have  failed,  as  Mr.  Fletcher  was  a  few 
years  afterwards  called  into  another  world.  From  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley,  who  had  become  a  family  man,  and  had 
nearly  given  up  travelling,  he  had  no  hope  as  a  successor ; 
and  even  then  a  farther  settlement  would  have  been  necessa- 
ry, because  he  could  not  be  expected  long  to  survive  his  bro- 

*  In  his  seventy-second  year  he  tlius  speaks  of  liimself,  "  This  be- 
ing my  birth  day.  the  first  day  of  my  seventy-second  year,  I  was  con- 
sidering, how  is  this  that  I  find  just  the  same  strength  as  I  did  thirty 
years  ago  1  that  my  sight  is  considerably  better  now,  and  my  nerves 
firmer  than  tliey  were  then  1  that  I  have  none  of  the  infirmities  of 
old  age,  and  have  lost  several  I  had  in  my  youth  1  The  grand  cause 
is  the  good  pleasure  of  God,  who  doeth  whatsoever  plcaseth  him.— 
The  chief  means  are,  1.  My  constantly  rising  at  four  for  about  fifty 
years :  2.  My  generally  preaching  at  five  in  tlic  morning,  one  of  the 
most  healthy  exercises  in  the  woi-Id  :  3.  My  never  travelling  les.s,  by 
sea  or  land,  than  four  thousand  five  hundred  miles  in  a  year." 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


231 


ther.  Still  therefore  this  important  matter  remained  unde- 
termined. At  the  time  the  overture  was  made  to  Mr.  Fletcher, 
the  preachers  who  were  fully  engaged  in  the  work  amounted 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  ;  and  the  societies,  in  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  to  upwards  of  thirty-five  thousand,  exclusive  of 
the  regular  hearers.  This  rapid  and  constant  enlargement 
of  the  connexion  heightened  the  urgency  of  the  question  of 
its  future  settlement ;  and  it  is  pleasing  to  remark,  that  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley  at  length  entered  into  this  feeling,  and  offer- 
ed his  suggestions.  In  spite  of  the  little  misunderstandings 
which  had  arisen,  he  maintained  a  strong  interest  in  a  work 
of  which  he  had  been  so  eminent  an  instrument ;  and  this 
grew  upon  him  in  his  latter  years.  Thus  we  have  seen  him 
springing  into  activity  upon  the  sickness  of  his  brother,  be- 
fore mentioned,  and  performing  for  him  the  full  "  work  of  an 
evangelist,"  by  travelling  in  his  place ;  and,  upon  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's recovery,  his  labours  were  afforded  locally  to  the  cha- 
pels in  London  and  Bristol,  to  the  great  edification  of  the 
congregations.  In  one  of  his  latest  letters  to  his  brother,  en- 
tering ijito  the  question  of  a  provision  for  the  settlement  of 
the  future  government  of  the  connexion,  he  says,  "  I  served 
West-sireet  chapel  on  Friday  and  Sunday.  Stand  to  your 
own  proposal :  '  Let  us  agree  to  differ.'  I  leave  America  and 
Scotland  to  your  latest  thoughts  and  recognitions ;  only  ob- 
serving now,  that  you  arc  exactly  right, — keep  your  autho- 
rity while  you  live ;  and,  after  your  death,  detur  digniorL,  or 
rather,  digniorihus.  You  cannot  settle  the  succession.  You 
cannot  divine  how  God  will  settle  it." 

Thus  Charles  gave  up  as  hopeless  the  return  to  the  church, 
and  suggested  the  plan  which  his  brother  adopted,  to  devolve 
the  government,  not  indeed  upon  one,  but  upon  many  whom 
he  esteemed  "  the  worthiest,"  for  age,  experience,  talent,  and 
moderation. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

In  1775,  Mr.  Wesley,  during  a  tour  in  the  north  of  Ireland, 
had  a  dangerous  sickness  occasioned  by  sleeping  on  the 
ground,  in  an  orchard,  in  the  hot  weather,  which  he  says  he 
had  been  "  accustomed  to  do  for  forty  years  without  ever 


232 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


being  injured  by  it."  He  was  slow  to  admit  that  old  age  had 
arrived,  or  he  trusted  to  triumph  long  over  its  infirmities. 
The  conseqiience  in  this  case,  however,  was  that,  after  man- 
fully struggling  with  the  incipient  symptomsof  thecomplaint, 
and  attempting  to  throw  them  off  by  reading,  journeying, 
and  preaching,  he  sunk  into  a  severe  fever,  from  which,  after 
lying  insensible  for  some  days,  he  recovered  with  extraordi- 
nary rapidity  :  and  resumed  a  service  which,  extended  as  it 
had  been  through  so  many  years,  was  not  yet  to  be  termma- 
ted.  Wliilst  in  London  the  next  year,  the  following  incident 
occurred : — 

An  order  had  been  made  by  the  house  of  lords,  "  That 
the  commissioners  of  his  majesty's  excise  do  write  circular 
letters  to  all  persons  whom  they  have  reason  to  suspect  to 
have  plate,  as  also  to  those  who  have  not  paid  regularly  the 
duty  on  the  same,"  &c.  In  consequence  of  this  order,  the 
accountant-general  for  household  plate  sent  Mr.  Wesley  a 
copy  of  the  order,  with  the  following  letter  : — 

"  REVEREND  SIR, 

"  As  tlie  commissioners  cannot  doubt  but  you  have  plate 
for  which  you  have  hitherto  neglected  to  make  an  entry, 
they  have  directed  me  to  send  you  the  above  copy  of  the 
lords'  order,  and  to  inform  you,  they  expect  that  you  forth- 
with make  due  entry  of  all  your  plate,  such  entry  to  bear 
date  from  the  commencement  of  the  plate  duty,  or  from  such 
time  as  you  have  owned,  used,  had,  or  kept  any  quantity  of 
silver  plate,  chargeable  by  the  act  of  parliament ;  as  in  de- 
fault hereof,  the  board  will  be  obliged  to  signify  your  refusal 
to  their  lordships. 

"  N.  B.  An  immediate  answer  is  desired." 

Mr.  Wesley  replied  as  follows : — 
"  sm, 

"  I  have  two  silver  tea-spoons  at  London,  and  two  at  Bris- 
tol. This  is  all  the  plate  which  I  have  at  present;  and  I 
shall  not  buy  anymore  while  so  many  around  me  want  bread. 

"I  am,  sir, 
"  Your  most  humble  servant, 

"  JOHN  WESLEY." 
No  doubt  the  commissioners  of  his  majesty's  excise 
thought  that  the  head  of  so  numerous  a  people  had  not  for- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


233 


gotten  his  own  interests,  and  that  the  interior  of  his  episco- 
pal residence  in  London  was  not  without  superfluities  and 
splendour. 

The  bishop  of  Sodor  and  Man  having  written  a  pastoral 
letter  to  all  the  clergy  within  his  diocese,  to  warn  their 
flocks  against  Methodism,  and  exhorting  them  to  present  all 
who  attended  its  meetings  in  the  spiritual  courts,  and  to  re- 
pel every  Methodist  preacher  from  the  sacrament,  Mr.  Wes- 
ley hastened  to  the  island,  and  in  May,  1777,  landed  at 
Douglas.  In  every  place  he  appears  to  have  been  cordially 
received  by  all  ranks  ;  and  his  prompt  visit  probably  put  a 
stop  to  this  threatened  ecclesiastical  violence,  for  no  farther 
mention  is  made  of  it.  The  societies  in  the  island  continued 
to  flourish ;  and,  on  Mr.  Wesley's  second  visit,  he  found  a 
new  bishop  of  a  more  liberal  character. 

The  Foundry  having  become  too  small  for  the  comforta- 
ble accommodation  of  the  congregation  in  that  part  of  Lon- 
don, and  being  also  gloomy  and  dilapidated,  a  new  chapel 
had  been  erected.  "November  1st,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "was 
the  day  appointed  for  opening  the  new  chapel  in  the  city- 
road.  It  is  perfectly  neat,  but  not  fine,  and  contains  far 
more  than  the  Foundry  ;  I  believe,  together  with  the  morn- 
ing chapel,  as  many  as  the  tabernacle.  Many  were  afraid 
that  the  multitudes,  crowding  from  all  parts,  would  have  oc- 
casioned much  disturbance  ;  but  they  were  happily  disap- 
pointed ;  there  was  none  at  all :  all  was  quietness,  decency, 
and  order.  I  preached  on  part  of  Solomon's  prayer  at  the 
-dedication  of  the  temple  ;  and  both  in  the  morning  and  af- 
ternoon God  was  eminently  present  in  the  midst  of  the  con- 
gregation."* 

Here  the  brothers  agreed  to  officiate  as  often  as  possible 
till  the  congregation  should  be  settled.  Two  resident  cler- 
gymen were  also  employed  at  this  chapel  as  curates,  for 
reading  the  full  church  service,  administering  the  sacra- 
ments, and  burying  the  dead.  But  Mr.  Charles  Wesley 
took  some  little  offence  at  the  liberty  given  to  the  preachers 
to  ofiiciate  in  his  brother's  absence,  and  when  he  himself 
could  not  supply.  His  letter  of  complaint  produced,  how- 
ever, no  change  in  his  brother's  appointments,  nor  was  it 
kkely.  Mr.  Wesley  knew  well  that  his  own  preaching  at 
*  Journal. 
20* 


234 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


the  new  chapel,  and  the  ministrations  of  the  other  clergy- 
men, during  the  hours  of  service  in  the  parish  church,  with- 
out a  license  from  the  bishop,  or  the  acknowledgment  of  his 
spiritual  jurisdiction,  was  just  as  irregular  an  affair,  consider- 
ed ecclesiastically,  as  the  other.  The  city-road  chapel,  with 
its  establishment  of  clergy,  service  in  canonical  hours,  and 
sacraments,  was,  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  as  much  as  any  dis- 
senting place  of  worship  in  London,  a  conventicle  ;  though, 
when  tried  by  a  better  rule,  it  was  eminently,  in  those  days 
of  power  and  simplicity,  "  none  other  than  the  house  of  God, 
and  the  gate  of  heaven,"  to  devout  worshippers.  An  influ- 
ence of  a  very  extraordinary  kind  often  rested  upon  the  vast 
congregations  assembled  there ;  thousands  were  trained  up 
in  it  for  the  kingdom  of  God ;  and  the  society  exhibited  ^ 
greater  number  of  members,  perhaps,  than  any  other,  ex^ 
cept  that  in  Bristol,  who,  for  intelligence,  deep  experience 
in  the  things  of  God,  stability,  meekness  of  spirit,  and  holi- 
ness of  life,  were  at  once  the  ornaments  of  Methodism,  and 
an  mfluential  example  to  the  other  societies  of  the  me- 
tropolis. 

In  1778,  Mr.  Wesley  began  to  publish  a  periodical  work, 
which  he  entitled,  "  The  Arminian  Magazine ;  consisting  of 
extracts  and  original  treatises  on  universal  redemption." 
He  needed  a  medhmi  through  which  he  could  reply  to  the 
numerous  attacks  made  upon  him  ;  and  he  made  use  of  it 
farther  to  introduce  into  general  circulation  several  choice 
treatises  on  universal  redemption,  and  to  publish  selections 
from  his  valuable  correspondence  with  pious  persons.  He 
conductedthis  work  while  he  lived  ;  and  it  is  still  continued 
by  the  conference,  under  the  title  of  the  "  Wesleyan  Metho- 
dist Magazine,"  on  the  same  general  principles  as  toitstheO' 
logy,  though  on  a  more  enlarged  plan. 

A  dispute  of  a  somewhat  serious  aspect  arose  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  out  of  the  appointment  of  a  clergyman  by  Mr. 
Wesley  to  preach  every  Sunday  evening  in  the  chapel  at 
Bath.  It  was  not  probable  that  the  preachers  of  the  circuit 
should  pay  the  same  deference  to  a  strange  clergyman,  re- 
cently introduced,  as  to  Mr.  Wesley  ;  but  when  this  exclu- 
sive occupation  of  the  pulpit  on  Sunday  evenings  was  object- 
ed to  by  them  and  part  of  the  society,  Mr.  Wesley,  support- 
ed by  his  brother,  wlio  had  accompanied  him  to  Bath,  stood 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


235 


firmly  upon  his  right  to  appoint  when  and  where  the  preach- 
ers should  officiate,  as  a  fundamental  part  of  the  compact 
between  them  ;  and  the  assistant  preacher,  Mr.  M'Nab,  was 
suspended  until  "  he  came  to  another  mind."  As  Mr. 
M'Nab,  who  had  thus  fallen  under  Mr.  Wesley's  displeasure, 
was  supported  by  many  of  the  other  preachers,  a  stormy 
conference  was  anticipated.  To  this  meeting  Mr.  Wesley, 
therefore,  foreseeing  that  his  authority  would  be  put  to  the 
trial,  strongly  invited  his  brother,  in  order  that  he  might  as- 
sist him  with  his  advice.  At  first  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  de- 
clined, on  the  ground  that  he  could  not  trust  to  his  brother's 
vigour  and  resolution.  He,  however,  attended ;  but  when 
ije  saw  that  Mr.  Wesley  was  determined  to  heal  tlie  breach 
jby  concession,  he  kept  entire  silence.  The  offending  preach- 
er was  received  back  without  censure ;  and,  from  this  time, 
Pr.  Whitehead  thinks  that  Mr.  Wesley's  authority  in  the 
.conference  declined.  This  is  not  correct ;  but  that  authority 
was  exercised  in  a  different  manner.  Many  of  the  preachers 
had  become  old  in  the  work  ;  and  were  men  of  great  talents, 
tried  fidelity,  and  influence  with  the  societies.  These  quali- 
ties were  duly  appreciated  by  Mr.  Wesley,  who  now  regard- 
ed them  more  than  formerly,  when  they  were  young  and  in- 
experienced, as  his  counsellors  and  coadjutors.  It  was  an 
eminent  proof  of  Mr.  Wesley's  practical  wisdom,  that  he 
never  attempted  to  contend  with  circumstances  not  to  be 
controlled  ;  and  from  this  time  he  placed  his  supremacy  no 
longer  upon  authority,  but  upon  the  influence  of  wisdom, 
character,  and  age,  and  thus  confirmed  rather  than  diminish- 
ed it.  Had  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  felt  sure  of  being  supported 
by  his  brother  with  what  he  called  "  vigour,"  it  is  plain  from 
his  letter  on  the  occasion,  that  he  would  have  stood  upon  the 
alternativeof  the  unconditional  submission  of  ail  the  preach- 
ers, or  a  separation.  His  brother  chose  a  more  excellent 
way,  snd  no  doubt  foresaw,  not  only  that  if  a  separation  had 
been  driven  on  by  violence,  it  would  have  been  an  extensive 
one  ;  but  that  among  the  societies  which  remained  the  same 
process  would  naturally,  and  necessarily,  at  some  future 
time,  take  place,  and  so  nothing  be  ultimately  gained,  to 
counterbalance  the  immediate  mischief.  The  silence  main- 
tained by  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  in  this  conference  did  him 
also  great  honour.   He  suspected  "  the  warmth  of  his  tern- 


236 


LIFE  OF  WE6LEY. 


per;"  he  saw  that,  as  his  brother  was  bent  upon  concihation, 
any  thing  he  could  say  would  only  endanger  the  mutual 
confidence  between  him  and  his  preachers,  and  he  held  his 
peace.  He  himself  believed  that  a  formal  separation  of  the 
body  of  preachers  and  people  from  the  church  would  inevi- 
tably take  place  after  his  brother's  death,  and  thought  it  best 
to  bring  on  the  crisis  before  that  event.  "  You,"  says  he, 
to  his  brother,  "  think  otherwise,  and  I  submit."  The  fact 
has  been,  that  no  sttch  separation  as  he  feared,  that  is,  separa- 
tion on  such  principles,  and  under  such  feelings  of  hostility 
to  the  established  church,  has  yet  taken  place. 

The  following  letter  written  by  Mr.  Wesley  in  1782,  to  a 
nobleman  high  in  office,  shows  how  much  his  mind  was 
alive  to  every  thing  which  concerned  the  morals  and  religion 
of  the  country,  and  is  an  instance  of  the  happy  manner  in 
which  he  could  unite  courtesy  with  reproof,  without  destroy- 
ing its  point.  A  report  prevailed  that  the  ministry  designed 
to  embody  the  militia,  and  exercise  them  on  a  Sunday.  ) 

"  MY  LORD, 

"  If  I  wrong  your  lordship  I  am  sorry  for  it;  but  I  real- 
ly believe,  your  lordship  fears  God ;  and  I  hope  your  lord- 
ship has  no  unfavourable  opinion  of  the  Christian  revelation. 
Tliis  encourages  me  to  trouble  your  lordship  with  a  few 
lines,  which  otherwise  I  should  not  take  upon  me  to  do. 

"  Above  thirty  years  ago.  a  motion  was  made  in  parlia- 
ment, for  raising  and  embodying  the  militia,  and  for  exercis- 
ing them,  to  save  time,  on  Sunday.  When  the  motion  was 
like  to  pass,  an  old  gentleman  stood  up  and  said,  '  Mr.  Speak- 
er, 1  have  one  objection  to  this :  I  believe  an  old  book,  call- 
ed the  Bible.'  The  members  looked  at  one  another,  and  the 
motion  was  dropped. 

"Must  not  all  others,  who  believe  the  Bible,  have  the  very 
same  objection?  And  from  what  I  have  seen,  I  cannot  but 
think,  these  are  still  three  foiu'ths  of  the  nation.  Now,  set- 
ting religion  out  of  the  question,  is  it  expedient  to  give  such 
a  shock  to  so  many  millions  of  people  at  once?  And  cer- 
tainly it  would  shock  them  extremely :  it  would  wound  them 
in  a  very  tender  part.  For  would  not  they,  would  not  all 
England,  would  not  all  Europe,  consider  this  as  a  virtual  re- 
peal of  the  Bible  ?  And  would  not  all  serious  persons  say, 
'  we  have  little  religion  in  the  laud  now;  but  by  this  step  we 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


237 


shall  have  less  still.  For  wherever  this  pretty  show  is  to 
be  seen,  the  people  will  flock  together;  and  wTU  lounge  away 
so  much  time  before  and  after  it,  that  the  churches  will  be 
emptier  than  they  are  already  !' 

"  My  lord,  I  am  concerned  for  this  on  a  doiible  account. 
First,  because  I  have  personal  obligations  to  your  lordship, 
and  would  fain,  even  for  this  reason,  recommend  your  lord- 
ship to  the  love  and  esteem  of  all  over  whom  I  have  any 
influence.  Secondly,  because  I  now  reverence  your  lordship 
for  your  office'  sake ;  and  believe  it  to  be  my  bounden  duty 
to  do  all  that  is  in  my  little  power,  to  advance  your  lord- 
ship's influence  and  reputation. 

"Will  your  lordship  permit  me  to  add  a  word  in  my  old 
fashioned  way  1  I  pray  Him  that  has  all  power  in  heaven 
and  earth  to  prosper  all  your  endeavours  for  the  public  good, 
and  am, 

"  My  lord, 

"  Your  lordship's  willing  servant, 

"JOHN  WESLEY." 

In  1783  Mr.  Wesley  paid  a  visit  to  Holland,  having  been 
pressed  to  undertake  this  journey  by  a  Mr.  Ferguson,  form- 
erly a  member  of  the  London  society,  who  had  made  ac- 
quaintance with  some  pious  people,  who,  having  read  Mr. 
Wesley's  sermons,  were  desirous  of  seeing  him. 

The  following  are  extracts  from  his  journal :  and  they 
will  be  read  with  pleasure,  both  as  exhibiting  his  activity  at 
so  advanced  an  age,  and  as  they  present  an  interesting  pic- 
ture of  his  intercourse  with  a  pious  remnant  in  several  parts 
of  that  morally  deteriorated  country : — 
-  "Wednesday,  Juae  11,  I  took  coach  with  Mr.  Brackenbu- 
ry,  Broadbent,  and  Whitefield  ;  and  in  the  evening  we 
reached  Harwich.  I  went  immediately  to  Dr.  Jones,  who 
received  me  in  the  most  affectionate  manner  :  about  nine  in 
the  morning  we  sailed ;  and  at  nine  on  Friday  13,  landed  at 
Helvoetsluys.  Here  we  hired  a  coach  for  Briel ;  but  were 
forced  to  hire  a  wagon  also,  to  carry  a  box,  which  one  of 
us  could  have  carried  on  his  shoulders.  At  Briel  we  took  a 
boat  to  Rotterdam.  We  had  not  been  long  there,  when  Mr. 
Bennet,  a  bookseller,  who  had  invited  me  to  his  house,  called 
for  me.  But  as  Mr.  Loyal,  the  minister  of  the  Scotch  con- 
gregation, had  invited  me,  he  gave  up  his  claim,  and  went 


238 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


with  us  to  Mr.  Loyal's.  I  found  a  friendly,  sensible,  hospi- 
table, and  I  am  persuaded,  a  pious  man. 

"  Saturday  14.  I  had  much  conversation  with  the  two 
English  ministers,  sensible,  well  bred,  serious  men.  These, 
as  well  as  Mr.  Loyal,  were  very  willing  I  should  preach  in 
their  churches;  but  they  thought  it  would  be  best  for  me  to 
preach  in  the  episcopal  church.  By  our  conversing  freely 
together  many  prejudices  were  removed,  and  all  our  hearts 
seemed  to  be  united  together. 

"  Sunday  15.  The  episcopal  church  is  not  quite  so  large 
as  the  chapel  in  West-street :  it  is  very  elegant  both  without 
and  within.  The  service  began  at  half  past  nine.  Such  a 
congregation  had  not  often  been  there  before.  I  preached 
on,  '  God  created  man  in  his  own.  image.'  The  people 
'  seemed  all,  but  their  attention,  dead.'  In  the  afternoon  the 
church  was  so  filled,  as  (they  informed  me)  it  had  not  been 
for  these  fifty  years.  I  preached  on,  '  God  hath  given  us 
eternal  life ;  and  this  life  is  in  his  Son.'  I  believe  God  ap- 
plied it  to  many  hearts.  Were  it  only  for  this  hour,  I  am 
glad  I  came  to  Holland. 

"  RIonday  16.  We  set  out  in  a  track-skuit  for  the  Hague : 
by  the  way  we  saw  a  curiosity ; — the  gallows  near  the  canal, 
surrounded  with  a  knot  of  beautiful  trees !  so  the  dying  man 
will  have  one  pleasant  prospect  here,  whatever  befalls  him 
hereafter ! 

"  At  eleven  we  came  to  Delft,  a  large,  handsome  town ; 
where  we  spent  an  hour  at  a  merchant's  house;  who  as  well 
as  his  wife,  a  very  agreeable  woman,  seemed  both  to  fear 
and  to  love  God.  Afterwards  we  saw  the  great  church,  I 
think,  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  long  as  York  Minster.  It  is 
exceedingly  light  and  elegant  within,  and  every  part  is  kept 
exquisitely  clean. 

"When  we  came  to  the  Hague,  though  we  had  heard 
much  of  it,  we  were  not  disappointed.  It  is  indeed  beauti- 
ful beyond  expression.  Many  of  the  houses  are  exceedingly 
grand,  and  are  finely  intermixed  with  water  and  wood ;  yet 
not  too  close,  but  so  as  to  be  sufficiently  ventilated  by  the  air. 

"  Being  invited  to  tea  by  Madam  de  Vassenaar,  (one  of 
the  first  quality  in  the  Hague,)  I  waited  upon  her  in  the 
afternoon.  She  received  us  with  that  easy  opemiess  and 
affability,  which  is  almost  peculiar  to  Christians  and  persons 


LIFE  OF  •W-ESLEY. 


239 


ol  quality.  Soon  after  came  ten  or  twelve  ladies  more  who 
seemed  to  be  of  her  own  rank,  (though  dressed  quite  plain- 
ly,) and  two  most  agreeable  gentlemen:  one  of  whom,  I 
afterwards  understood,  was  a  colonel  in  the  Prince's  Guards. 
After  tea  I  expounded  the  three  first  verses  of  the  thirteenth 
chapter  of  the  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians :  Captain  M. 
interpreted,  sentence  by  sentence.  I  then  prayed,  and  Co- 
lonel V.  after  me.   I  believe  this  hour  was  well  employed. 

"  Tuesday  17.  We  dined  at  Mrs.  L — 's,  in  such  a  family 
as  I  have  seldom  seen.  Her  mother,  upwards  of  seventy, 
seemed  to  be  continually  rejoicing  in  God  her  Savioiu:. 
The  daughter  breathes  the  same  spirit ;  and  her  grandchild- 
ren, three  little  girls  and  a  boy,  seem  to  be  all  love.  I  have 
not  seen  four  such  children  together  in  England.  A  gentle- 
man coming  in  after  dinner,  I  found  a  particular  desire  to 
pray  for  him.  In  a  Uttle  while  he  melted  into  tears,  as  in- 
deed did  most  of  the  company.  Wednesday  18.  In  the 
afternoon  Madam  de  Vassenar  invited  us  to  a  meeting  at  a 
neighbouring  lady's  house.  I  expoimded  Gal.  vi.  14,  and 
Mr.  M.  interpreted  as  before. 

"  Thursday  19.  We  took  boat  at  seven.  Mrs.  L.,  and  one 
of  her  relations,  being  xmwilhng  to  part  so  soon,  bore  us 
company  to  Leyden,  a  large  and  populous  town,  but  not  so 
pleasant  as  Rotterdam.  In  the  afternoon  we  went  to  Haar- 
lem, where  a  plain  good  man  and  his  Avife  recei\  ed  us  in  a 
most  affectionate  manner.  At  six  we  took  boat  arain :  as  it 
was  filled  from  end  to  end,  I  was  afraid  we  should  not  have 
a  very  pleasant  journey.  After  Mr.  Ferguson  had  told  the 
people  who  we  were,  we  made  a  slight  excuse,  and  sung  a 
hjmin :  they  were  all  attention.  We  then  talked  a  little,  by 
means  of  our  interpreter,  and  desired  that  any  of  them 
who  pleased  would  sing.  Four  persons  did  so,  and  sung 
well :  after  awhile  we  sung  again ;  so  did  one  or  two  of 
them  ;  and  all  our  hearts  were  strangely  knit  together,  so 
that  when  we  came  to  Amsterdam,  they  dismissed  us  with 
abundance  of  blessings. 

"  Friday  20.  At  five  in  the  evening  we  drank  tea  at  a 
merchant's,  Mr.  G — s,  where  I  had  a  long  conversation  with 
Mr.  de  H.,  one  of  the  most  learned  as  well  as  popular  minis- 
ters in  the  city ;  and  I  believe  (what  is  far  more  important) 
he  is  truly  alive  to  God.    He  spoke  Latin  well,  and  seemed 


240 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


to  be  one  of  a  strong  understanding,  as  well  as  of  an  excel- 
lent spirit.  In  returning  to  our  inn,  we  called  at  a  station- 
er's, and  though  we  spent  but  a  few  minutes,  it  was  enough 
to  convince  us  of  his  strong  affection  even  to  strangers. 
What  a  change  does  the  grace  of  God  make  in  the  heart ! 
Shyness  and  stiffness  are  now  no  more ! 

"  Sunday  22.  I  went  to  the  new  church,  so  called  still, 
though  four  or  five  hundred  years  old.  It  is  larger,  higher, 
and  better  illuminated  than  most  of  our  cathedrals.  The 
screen  that  divides  the  church  from  the  choir,  is  of  polished 
brass,  and  shines  like  gold.  I  understood  the  psalms  that 
were  sung,  and  the  text  well,  and  a  little  of  the  sermon ; 
which  Mr.  de  H.  delivered  with  great  earnestness.  At  two  I 
began  the  service  at  the  English  church,  an  elegant  building, 
about  the  size  of  West-street  chapel ;  only  it  has  no  galle- 
ries, nor  have  any  of  the  churches  in  Holland.  I  preached 
on  Isaiah  Iv.  6,  7,  and  I  am  persuaded  many  received  the 
truth  in  the  love  thereof. 

"After  service  I  spent  another  hour  at  Mr.  Vs.  Mrs.  V. 
again  asked  me  abundance  of  questions  concerning  deliver- 
ance from  sin,  and  seemed  a  good  deal  better  satisfied  with 
regard  to  the  great  and  precious  promises.  Thence  we 
went  to  Mr.  B.,  who  had  lately  found  peace  with  God.  He 
was  full  of  faith  and  love,  and  could  hardly  mention  the 
goodness  of  God  without  tears.  His  wife  appeared  to  be  of 
the  same  spirit,  so  that  our  hearts  were  soon  knit  together. 
From  thence  we  went  to  another  family,  where  a  large  com- 
pany were  assembled :  but  all  seemed  open  to  receive  in- 
struction, and  desirous  to  be  altogether  Christians. 

"  Wednesday  25.  We  took  boat  for  Haarlem.  The  great 
church  here  is  a  noble  structure,  equalled  by  few  cathedrals 
in  England,  either  in  length,  breadth,  or  height :  the  organ 
is  the  largest  I  ever  saw,  and  is  said  to  be  the  finest  in  Eu- 
rope. Hence  we  went  to  Mr.  Van  K's,  whose  wife  was  con- 
vinced of  sin,  and  brought  to  God,  by  reading  Mr.  White- 
field's  sermons. 

"  Here  we  were  at  home.  Before  dinner  we  took  a  walk 
in  Haarlem  wood.  It  adjoins  to  the  town,  and  is  cut  out  in 
many  shady  walks,  with  lovely  vistas  shooting  out  every 
way.  The  walk  from  the  Hague  to  Scheveling  is  pleasant ; 
those  near  Amsterdam  more  so  ;  but  these  exceed  them  all. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


241 


■'  We  returned  in  the  afternoon  to  Amsterdam,  and  in  the 
evening  tooic  leave  of  as  many  of  our  friends  as  we  could. 
I  luw  entirely  were  we  mistaken  in  the  Hollanders,  suppo- 
Miig  them  to  be  of  a  cold,  phlegmatic,  unfriendly  temper! 
1  luive  not  met  with  a  more  warmly  affectionate  people  in 
all  Europe !  No,  not  in  Ireland! 

"  Thursday  26.  Our  friends  having  largely  provided  us  with 
\^  inc  and  fruits  for  our  little  journey,  we  took  boat  in  alove- 
i  \  morning  for  Utrecht,  with  Mr.  Van  K's  sister,  who  in  the 
\\  II y  gave  us  a  striking  account.  '  In  that  house,'  said  she, 
(pointing  to  it  as  we  went  by,)  '  my  husband  and  I  lived: 
and  that  church  adjoining  it,  was  his  church.  Five  years 
iigo,  we  were  sitting  together,  being  in  perfect  health,  when 
he  dropped  down,  and  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  died :  I  lifted 
up  my  heart  and  said,  Lord^  tJiou  art  my  husband  now  ;  and 
found  no  will  but  his.'  This  was  a  trial  worthy  of  a  Chris- 
tian :  and  she  has  ever  since  made  her  word  good.  We 
were  scarcely  got  at  our  inn  at  Utrecht  when  Miss  L.  came ; 
I  found  her  just  such  as  I  expected.  She  came  on  purpose 
from  her  father's  country-house,  where  all  the  family  were. 
I  observe  of  all  the  pious  people  in  Holland,  that,  without 
any  rule  but  the  word  of  God,  they  dress  as  plainly  as  Miss 
March  did  formerly,  and  Miss  Johnson  does  now  !  And  con- 
sidering the  vast  disad\antage  they  are  under,  having  no 
connexion  with  each  other,  and  being  under  no  such  disci- 
pline at  all  as  we  are,  I  wonder  at  the  grace  of  God  that  is 
in  them. 

"  Saturday  28.  I  have  this  day  lived  fourscore  years ;  and 
by  the  mercy  of  God,  my  eyes  are  not  waxed  dim,  and  what 
little  strength  of  body  or  mind  I  had  thirty  years  since,  is 
just  the  same  I  have  now.  God  grant  I  may  never  live  to  be 
useless.   Rather  may  I 

'  My  body  with  my  charge  I  lay  down, 
And  cease  at  once  to  work  and  live.' 

"  Sunday  29.  At,  ten  I  began  the  service  in  the  English 
church ,  in  Utretcht.  I  believe  all  the  English  in  the  city 
■were  present,  and  forty  or  fifty  Hollanders.  I  preached  on 
the  13th,of  the  first  of  Corinthians,  I  think  as  searchingly  as 
ever  in  my  life.  Afterwards  a  merchant  invited  me  to  din- 
ner :  for  six  years  he  had  been  at  death's  door  by  an  asthma, 
and  was  extremely  ill  last  night ;  but  tliis  morning,  without 
21 


242 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


any  visible  cause,  he  was  well,  and  walked  across  the  city  to 
the  church.  He  seemed  to  be  deeply  acquainted  with  reli- 
gion, and  made  me  promise,  if  I  came  to  Utrecht  again,  to 
make  his  house  my  home. 

"  In  the  evening,  a  large  company  of  us  met  at  Miss  L's, 
where  I  was  desired  to  repeat  the  substance  of  my  morning 
sermon.  I  did  so,  Mr.  Toydemea,  (the  professor  of  law  in 
the  university,)  interpreting  it  sentence  by  sentence.  They 
then  sung  a  Dutch  hymn,  and  we  an  English  one.  After- 
wards Mr.  Regulet,  a  venerable  old  man,  spent  some  time  in 
prayer  for  the  establishment  of  peace  and  love  between  the 
two  nations. 

"  Tuesday,  July  1.  I  called  on  as  many  as  I  could  of  my 
friends,  and  we  parted  with  much  affection.  We  then  hired 
a  yacht,  which  brought  us  to  Helvoetsluys  about  eleven 
the  next  day.  At  two  we  Avent  on  board :  but  the  wind 
turning  against  us,  we  did  not  reach  Harwich  till  about  nine 
on  Friday  morning.  After  a  little  rest,  we  procured  a  car- 
riage, and  reached  London  about  eleven  at  night. 

"  I  can  by  no  means  regret  either  the  trouble  or  expense 
which  attended  this  little  jom-ney.  It  opened  me  a  way  into, 
as  it  were,  a  new  world,  where  the  land,  the  buildings,  the 
people,  the  customs,  were  all  such  as  I  had  never  seen  be- 
fore :  but  as  those  with  whom  I  conversed  were  of  the  same 
spirit  with  my  friends  in  England,  I  was  as  much  at  home 
in  Utrecht  and  Amsterdam,  as  in  Bristol  and  London." 

That  provision  for  the  stability  and  the  government  of  the 
connexion  after  his  death  which  had  been  to  Mr.  Wesley  a 
matter  of  serious  concern  for  several  years,  was  accomplish- 
ed in  1784,  and  gave  him,  whenever  he  subsequently  advert- 
ed to  the  subject,  the  greatest  satisfaction.  From  this  tiriie 
he  felt  that  he  had  nothing  more  to  do,  than  to  spend  his  re- 
maining life  in  the  same  spiritual  labours  in  which  he  had 
been  so  long  engaged ;  and  that  he  had  done  all  that  a  true 
prudence  required,  to  provide  for  the  continuance  and  ex- 
tension of  a  work  which  had  so  strangely  enlarged  under  his 
superintendence. 

This  settlement  was  effected  by  a  legal  instrument,  en- 
rolled in  chancery,  called  "  A  Deed  of  Declaration,"  in  which 
one  hundred  preachers,  mentioned  by  name,  were  declart  .1 
to  be  "  the  conference  of  the  people  called  Methodists."  15:.- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


243 


means  of  this  deed,  a  legal  description  was  given  to  the  term 
conference,  and  the  settlement  of  the  chapels  upon  trustees 
was  provided  for ;  so  that  the  appointment  of  preachers  to 
officiate  in  them  should  be  vested  in  the  conference,  as  it  had 
heretofore  been  in  Mr.  Wesley.  The  deed  also  declares 
how  the  .succession  and  identity  of  the  yearly  conference  is 
to  be  continued,  and  contains  various  regulations  as  to  the 
choice  of  a  president  and  secretary,  the  filling  up  of  vacan- 
cies, expulsions,  &c.  Thus  "  the  succession,"  as  it  was  called 
in  Mr.  Charles  Wesley's  letter,  above  quoted,  was  provided 
for ;  and  the  conference,  with  its  president,  chosen  annual- 
ly, came  into  the  place  of  the  founder  of  the  connexion,  and 
has  so  continued  to  the  present  day.  As  the  whole  of  the 
preachers  were  not  included  in  the  deed,  and  a  few  who 
thought  themselves  equally  entitled  to  be  of  the  hundred 
preachers  who  thus  formed  the  legal  conference  were  ex- 
cepted, some  dissatisfaction  arose  ;  but  as  all  the  preachers 
were  eligible  to  be  introduced  into  that  body,  as  vacancies  oc- 
curred, this  feeling  was  but  partial,  and  soon  subsided.*  All 
the  preachers  in  full  connexion  were  also  allowed  to  vote  in 
the  conference ;  and  subsequently,  those  who  were  not  of 
the  hundred,  but  had  been  in  connexion  a  certain  number 
of  years,  were  permitted,  by  their  votes,  to  put  the  president 
into"  nomination  for  the  confirmation  of  the  legal  conference. 
Thus  all  reasonable  ground  for  mistrust  and  jealousy  was 
removed  from  the  body  of  the  preachers  at  large;  and  with 
respect  to  the  hundred  preachers  themselves,  the  president 
being  chosen  annually,  and  each  being  eligible  to  that  ho- 
nour, efficiency  of  administration  was  wisely  coimected  with 

♦  "  Messrs.  John  Hampson,  sen.  and  John  Hampson,  jun.,  his 
son,  William  Eells,  and  Joseph  Pilmoor,  with  a  few  other  travelling 
preachers,  were  greatly  oflcnded  that  their  names  were  not  inserted 
in  the  deed.  By  Mr.  Fletcher's  friendly  efforts,  a  partial  reconcilia- 
tion was  effected  between  them  and  Mr.  Wesley  ;  but  it  was  of  short 
continuance.  Soon  after  the  conference,  1784,  Mr.  Hampson,  senior, 
became  an  independent  minister  ;  but  being  old  and  infirm,  and  the 
people  poor  among  whom  he  laboured,  he  was  assisted  out  of  the 
preachers'  fund  while  he  lived.  He  died  in  the  year  1795.  Mr. 
Hampson,  jun.  procured  ordination  in  the  estabUshed  church,  and 
got  a  Uving  in  Sunderland,  in  the  north  of  England.  Mr.  Eells  also 
left  the  connexion,  and,  some  time  after,  joined  Mr.  Atlay  at  Dew*, 
bury ;  and  Mr.  Pilmoor  went  to  America."— it/y?es. 


244 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


equality.  The  consequence  has  been,  that  the  preachers 
have  generally  remained  most  firmly  united  by  aflection 
and  mutual  confidence,  and  that  few  serious  disputes  have 
ever  arisen  among  them,  or  have  extended  beyond  a  very 
few  individuals.  Ecclesiastical  history  does  not,  perhaps, 
present  an  instance  of  an  equal  number  of  ministers  brought 
into  contact  so  close,  and  called  so  frequently  together,  for 
the  discussion  of  various  subjects,  among  whom  so  much 
general  unanimity,  both  as  to  doctrines  and  points  of  disci- 
pline, has  prevailed,  joined  with  so  much  real  good  will  and 
friendship  towards  each  other,  for  so  great  a  number  of 
years.  This  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  by  their  frequent 
changes  from  station  to  station,  opposite  interests  and  feel- 
ings are  very  often  brought  into  conflict.  The  final  deci- 
sions of  the  conference  on  their  appointment  to  these  sta- 
tions, generally  the  most  perplexing  part  of  its  annual  busi- 
ness, are,  however,  cheerfully  or  patiently  submitted  to, 
from  the  knowledge  that  each  has  of  the  public  spirit  with 
which  that  body  is  actuated,  and  the  frank  and  brotherly 
manner  in  which  all  its  proceedings  are  conducted.  The 
order  of  proceeding  in  the  business  of  the  conference  is  the 
same  as  in  the  days  of  Mr.  Wesley.  It  admits  candidates 
for  the  ministry,  on  proper  recommendation  from  the  super- 
intendents and  district  meetings ;  examines  those  who  have 
completed  their  probation  of  four  years,  and  receives  the  ap 
proved  into  full  connexion,  which  is  its  ordination  ;  investi- 
gates, without  any  exception,  the  character  and  talents  of 
those  who  are  already  in  connexion  year  by  year ;  appoints 
the  stations  of  the  year  ensuing ;  sends  additional  preachers 
to  new  places;  receives  the  reports  of  the  committees  ap- 
pointed to  manage  and  distribute  various  funds  ;  reviews  the 
state  of  the  societies ;  and  issues  an  annual  pastoral  address. 
At  the  time  of  the  meeting  of  the  conferences,  beside  the 
Sunday  services,  public  worship  is  held  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  in  the  evening  of  every  day,  except  Saturday,  which 
is  usually  attended  by  great  multitudes.  The  business  of 
each  conference,  exclusive  of  that  done  in  committees  which 
meet  previously,  occupies,  on  the  average,  about  a  fortnight 
in  every  year.  Were  it  not  for  the  district  meetings,  com- 
posed of  the  preachers,  and  the  stewards  of  a  number  of  cir- 
cuits, or  stations,  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  (an  ar- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


246 


rangcment  wliich  was  adopted  after  Mr.  Wesley's  death,)  the 
business  of  the  conference  would  require  a  much  longer  time 
to  transact ;  but  in  these  meetings  much  is  prepared  for  its 
final  decision. 

In  this  important  and  wise  settlement  of  the  government 
of  the  connexion  by  its  founder,  there  appears  but  one  regu- 
lation which  seems  to  controvert  that  leading  maxim  to 
which  he  had  always  respect,  namely,  to  be  guided  by  cir- 
cumstances in  matters  not  determined  by  some  great  princi- 
ple. I  allude  to  the  proviso  which  obliges  the  conference 
not  to  appoint  any  preacher  to  the  same  chapel  for  more 
than  three  years  successively,  thus  binding  an  itinerant  mi- 
nistry upon  the  societies  for  ever.  Wliether  this  system  of 
changing  ministers  be  essential  to  the  spiritual  interests  of 
the  body  or  not,  or  whether  it  might  not  be  usefully  modi- 
fied, will  be  matters  of  opinion ;  but  the  point  ought  perhaps 
to  have  been  left  more  at  liberty. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  state  in  which  the  separation  of  the  United  States 
from  the  mother  country  left  the  Methodist  American  so- 
cieties, had  become  a  matter  of  serious  concern  to  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, and  presented  to  him  a  new  case,  for  which  it  was  im- 
perative to  make  some  provision.  This,  however,  could  not 
be  done  but  by  a  proceeding  which  he  foresaw  would  lay 
him  open  to  much  remark,  and  some  censure,  from  the  ri- 
gid English  episcopalians.  But*\vith  him,  the  principle  of 
making  every  thing  indifferent  give  place  to  the  necessity 
of  doing  good  or  preventing  evil,  was  paramount ;  and  when 
that  necessity  was  clearly  made  out,  he  was  not  a  man  to 
hesitate.  The  mission  of  Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pilmoor  to 
America  has  been  already  mentioned.  Two  years  after- 
ward, in  1771,  Mr.  Wesley  sent  out  Messrs.  Asbury  and 
Wright;  and  in  1773,  Messrs.  Rankin  and  Shadford.  In 
1777,  the  preachers  in  the  different  circuits  in  America  had 
amounted  to  forty,  and  the  societies  had  also  greatly  in- 
creased. These  were  scattered  in  towns  and  settlements  so 
distant,  that  it  required  constant  and  extensive  travelling 


246 


LIFE  OF  WESLBy. 


from  the  preachers  to  supply  them  with  the  word  of  God. 
The  two  last  mentioned  preachers  returned,  after  employing 
themselves  on  the  mission  for  about  five  years ;  and  Mr. 
Asbury,  a  true  itinerant,  who  in  this  respect  followed  in 
America  the  unwearied  example  of  Mr.  Wesley,  gradually 
acquired  a  great  and  deserved  influence,  which,  supported 
as  it  was  by  his  excellent  sense,  moderating  temper,  and  en- 
tire devotedness  to  the  service  of  God,  increased  rather  than 
diminished  to  the  end  of  a  protracted  life.  The  American 
preachers,  like  those  in  England,  were  at  first  restrained  by 
Mr.  Wesley  from  administering  either  of  the  sacraments ; 
but  when,  through  the  war,  and  the  acquisition  of  independ- 
ence by  the  states,  most  of  the  clergy  of  the  church  of  Eng- 
land had  left  the  country,  neither  the  children  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  societies  could  be  baptized,  nor  the 
Lord's  supper  administered  among  them,  without  a  change 
of  the  original  plan.  Mr.  Asbury's  predilections  for  the 
former  order  of  things  prevented  him  from  listening  to  the 
request  of  the  American  societies  to  be  formed  into  a  regu- 
lar church,  and  furnished  with  all  its  spiritual  privileges  ; 
and  a  division  had  already  taken  place  among  them.  This 
breach,  however,  Mr.  Asbury  had  the  address  to  heal ;  and 
at  the  peace  he  laid  the  whole  case  before  Mr.  Wesley.  The 
result  will  be  seen  in  the  following  letter : — 

"  TO  DR.  COKE,  MR.  ASBURY,  AND  OUR  BRETHREN  IN 
NORTH  AMERICA. 

"Bristol,  September  10,  1784. 

"  By  a  very  uncommon  train  of  providences,  many  of  the 
provinces  of  North  America  are  totally  disjoined  from  their 
mother  country,  and  erected  into  independent  states.  The 
English  government  has  no  authority  over  them,  either  civil 
or  ecclesiastical,  any  more  than  over  the  states  of  Holland. 
A  civil  authority  is  exercised  over  them,  partly  by  the  con- 
gress, partly  by  the  provincial  assemblies.  But  no  one 
either  exercises  or  claims  any  ecclesiastical  authority  at  all. 
In  this  peculiar  situation,  some  thousands  of  the  inhabitants 
of  these  states  desire  my  advice  ;  and,  in  compliance  with 
their  desire,  I  have  drawn  up  a  little  sketch. 

"Lord  King's  account  of  the  primitive  church  convinced 
me,  many  years  ago,  that  bishops  and  presbyters  are  the 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


247 


aune  order,  and  consequently  have  the  same  right  to  ordain. 
For  many  years  I  have  been  importuned,  from  time  to  time, 
to  exercise  this  right,  by  ordaining  part  of  our  traveUing 
preachers ;  but  I  have  still  refused,  not  only  for  peace'  sake, 
but  because  I  was  determined,  as  little  as  possible,  to  violate 
the  established  order  of  the  national  church  to  which  I  be- 
longed. 

"But  the  case  is  widely  different  between  England  and 
North  America.  Here  there  are  bishops  who  have  a  legal 
jurisdiction.  In  America  there  are  none,  neither  any  parish 
ministers.  So  that,  for  some  hundred  miles  together,  there 
is  none  either  to  baptize  or  to  administer  the  Lord's  supper. 
Here,  therefore,  my  scruples  are  at  an  end  ;  and  I  conceive 
myself  at  full  liberty,  as  I  violate  no  order,  and  invade  no 
man's  right,  by  appointing  and  sending  labourers  into  the 
harvest. 

"  I  have  accordingly  appointed  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Francis 
Asbury  to  be  joint  superintendents  over  our  brethren  in 
North  America,  as  also  Richard  Whatcoat  and  Thomas  Va- 
sey  to  act  as  elders  among  them,  by  baptizing  and  adminis- 
tering the  Lord's  supper.  And  I  have  prepared  a  liturgy, 
little  differing  from  tliat  of  the  church  of  England,  (I  think 
the  best  constituted  national  church  in  the  world,)  which  I 
advise  all  the  travelling  preachers  to  use  on  the  Lord's  day, 
in  all  the  congregations,  reading  the  litany  only  on  Wednes- 
days and  Fridays,  and  praying  extempore  on  all  other  days. 
I  also  advise  the  elders  to  administer  the  supper  of  the  Lord 
on  every  Lord's  day. 

"  If  any  one  will  point  out  a  more  rational  and  scriptural 
way  of  feeding  and  guiding  those  poor  sheep  in  the  wilder- 
ness, I  will  gladly  embrace  it.  At  present  I  cannot  see  any 
better  method  than  that  I  have  taken. 

"  It  has,  indeed,  been  proposed  to  desire  thr  English  bishops 
to  ordain  part  of  our  preachers  for  America.  But  to  this  I 
object,  1 .  I  desired  the  bishop  of  London  to  ordain  only  one, 
but  could  not  prevail:  2.  If  they  consented,  we  know  the 
slowness  of  their  proceedings ;  but  the  matter  admits  of  no 
delay:  3.  If  they  would  ordain  them  now,  they  would  like- 
wise expect  to  govern  them.  And  how  grievously  would 
this  entangle  us  ?  4.  As  our  American  brethren  are  now 
totally  disentangled  both  from  the  state  and  from  the  Eng- 


248 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


lish  hierarchy,  we  dare  not  entangle  them  again  either  with 
the  one  or  the  other.  They  are  now  at  full  liberty  simply 
to  follow  the  Scriptures  and  the  primitive  church.  And  we 
judge  it  best  that  they  should  stand  fast  in  that  liberty  where- 
with God  has  so  strangely  made  them  free. 

"JOHN  WESLEY." 
Two  persons  were  thus  appointed  as  superintendents  or 
bishops,  and  two  as  elders,  with  power  to  administer  the  sa- 
craments, and  the  American  Methodists  were  formed  into  a 
church,  because  they  could  no  longer  remain  a  society  at- 
tached to  a  colonial  establishment  which  then  had  ceased  to 
exist.  The  propriety  and  even  necessity  of  this  step  is  suffi- 
ciently apparent;  but  the  mode  adopted  exposed  Mr.  Wesley 
to  the  sarcasms  of  his  brother,  who  was  not  a  convert  to  his 
opinion  as  to  the  identity  of  the  order  of  bishops  and  pres- 
byters; and  to  all  high  churchmen  the  proceeding  has  had 
the  appearance  of  great  irregularity.  The  only  real  irregu- 
larity, however,  has  been  generally  overlooked,  whilst  a 
merely  apparent  one  has  been  made  the  chief  subject  of  ani- 
madversion. The  true  anomaly  was,  that  a  clergyman  of 
the  church  of  England  should  ordain,  in  any  form,  without 
separating  from  that  church,  and  formally  disavowing  its 
authority ;  and  yet,  if  its  spiritual  governors  did  not  choose 
to  censure  and  disown  him  for  denying  the  figment  of  the 
uninterrupted  succession,  which  he  openly  said  "  he  knew 
to  be  a  fable ;"  for  maintaining  that  bishops  and  priests  were 
originally  one  order  only ;  (points,  let  it  be  observed,  Avhich 
perhaps  but  few  clnu'chmen  will  now,  and  certainly  but  few 
at  that  time,  would  very  seriously  maintain,  so  decisive  is 
the  evidence  of  Scripture  and  antiquity  against  them,  and 
so  completely  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Ihrce  orders  given  up 
by  the  founders  of  the  English  church  itself;)*  nor,  finally, 
for  proceeding  to  act  upon  that  principle  by  giving  orders; 

*  "  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  room  and  office  which  I  have  given 
unto  me  by  Christ  to  preach  his  Gospel ;  for  it  is  the  power  of  God, 
that  is  to  suy,  the  elect  organ  or  instrument  ordained  by  G!od,  and  en- 
dued with  sucli  virtue  and  efficacy,  that  it  is  able  to  give,  and  admi- 
nister effectually,  everlasting  life  unto  all  those  that  will  believe  and 
obey  unto  the  same. 

"  Item,  That  this  office,  this  power  and  authority,  was  committed 
(ind  given  by  Christ  and  his  apostles  unto  certain  persons  only,  that 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


it  would  be  hard  to  prove  that  he  was  under  any  moral  obli- 
gation to  withdraw  from  the  church.  The  bishops  did  not 
institute  proceedings  against  him,  and  why  should  he  form- 
ally renounce  them  altogether?  It  was  doubtless  such  a 
view  of  his  liberty,  in  this  respect,  that  made  him  say  on 
this  occasion,  in  answer  to  his  brother,  "  I  firmly  believe 
that  I  am  a  scriptural  cmV/fOTro;  as  much  as  any  man  in  Eng- 
land, or  in  Europe  ;  for  the  uninterrupted  succession  I  know 
to  be  a  fable,  which  no  man  ever  did  or  can  prove.  But  this 
does,  in  no  wise,  interfere  with  my  remaining  in  the  church 
of  England ;  from  which  I  have  no  more  desire  to  separate 
than  I  had  fifty  years  ago." 

The  point  which  has  been  most  insisted  upon  is  the  ab- 
surdity of  a  priest  ordaining  bishops.  But  this  absurdity 
could  not  arise  from  the  principle  which  Mr.  Wesley  had 
adopted,  viz.,  that  the  orders  were  identical ;  and  the  cen- 
sure therefore  rests  only  upon  the  assimiption,  that  bishops 
and  priests  were  of  different  orders,  which  he  denied.  He 
never  did  pretend  to  ordain  bishops  in  the  modern  sense, 
but  only  according  to  his  view  of  primitive  episcopacy. 
Little  importance  therefore  is  to  be  attached  to  Mr.  Moore's 
statement,*  that  Mr.  Wesley  having  named  Dr.  Coke  and 
Mr.  Asbury  simply  superintendents,  he  was  displeased 
when,  in  America,  they  took  the  title  of  bishops.  The  only 
objection  he  could  have  to  the  name  was,  that  from  long 
association  it  was  likely  to  convey  a  meaning  beyond  his 
own  intention.    But  this  was  a  matter  of  mere  prudential 

is  to  say,  unto  priests  and  bishops  whom  they  did  elect,  call  and  admit 
thereunto,  by  their  prayers,  and  imposition  of  their  hands. 

"  The  truth  is,  there  is  no  mention  made  of  any  degrees  or  dis- 
tinctions  in  orders,  but  only  of  deacons  or  ministers,  and  of  priests  or 

bishops. — A  DECLARATION  MADE  OF  THE  FUNCTIONS  AND  DIVINE  IN- 
STITUTION or  BISHOPS  AND  PRIESTS,  Regno  Hen.  viii.,  circiter  A.  D. 
1537—40. 

This  declaration  was  signed  by  Cromwell,  the  vicar  general,  Cran- 
mer  and  Holgate,  the  archbishops,  with  many  of  their  suffragans,  to- 
gether with  other  persons  intituled, 

"  SacrcE  Theologice,  Juris  Ecclesiasf'uci  el  Civilis,  Prqfcssores." 

Archbishop  Usher's  plan  for  conipreliending  the  Presbyterians  and 
Episcopalians  in  the  time  of  Charles  I.  was  also  founded  upon  the 
principle  of  bishops  and  presbyters  being  one  order, 

♦  Life  of  Wesley. 


250 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


feeling,  confined  to  himself:  so  that  neither  are  Dr.  Coke 
and  Mr.  Asbury  to  be  blamed  for  using  that  appellation  in 
Mr.  Wesley's  sense,  which  was  the  same  as  presbyter  as  far 
as  order  was  concerned ;  nor  the  American  societies,  (as 
they  have  sometimes  inconsiderately  been,)  for  calling  them- 
selves, in  the  same  view,  '*  The  American  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church ;"  since  their  episcopacy  is  founded  upon  the 
principle  of  bishops  and  presbyters  being  of  the  same 
degree, — a  more  extended  office  only  being  assigned  to  the 
former,  as  in  the  primitive  church.  For  though  nothing 
can  be  more  ob\  ious  than  that  the  primitive  pastors  are 
called  bishops  or  presbyters  indiscriminately  in  the  New 
Testament ;  yet,  at  an  early  period,  those  presbyters  were, 
by  way  of  distinction,  denominated  bishops,  who  presided 
in  the  meetings  of  the  presbyters,  and  were  finally  invested 
with  the  government  of  several  churches,  with  their  respec- 
tive presbyteries  ;  so  that  two  offices  were  then,  as  in  this 
case,  gi-afted  upon  the  same  order.  Such  an  arrangement 
was  highly  proper  for  America,  where  many  of  the  preach- 
ers were  young,  and  had  also  to  labour  in  distant  and  exten- 
sive circuits,  and  were  therefore  incapable  of  assisting, 
advising,  or  controlling  each  other.  A  travelling  episco- 
pacy, or  superintendency,  was  there  an  extension  of  the 
office  of  elder  or  presbyter,  but  it  of  course  created  no  other 
distinction;  and  the  bishops  of  the  Methodist  church  in 
America  have  in  practice  as  well  exemplified  the  primitive 
spirit,  as  in  principle  they  were  conformed  to  the  primitive 
discipline.  Dr.  Coke  was  only  an  occasional  visitant  in 
America,  and  though  in  the  sense  of  office  he  was  a  bishop 
there,  when  he  returned  home,  as  here  he  had  no  such 
office,  so  he  used  no  such  title,  and  made  no  such  pretension. 
Of  this  excellent  man,  it  ought  here  to  be  said,  that  occasion- 
al visits  to  America  could  not  satisfy  his  ardent  mind ;  he 
became  the  founder  and  soul  of  the  Methodist  missions  in 
various  parts  of  the  world,  first  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Wesley,  and  then  in  conjunction  with  the  conference;  and 
by  his  voyages,  travels,  and  labours,  he  erected  a  monument 
of  noble  and  disinterested  zeal  and  charity,  which  will  never 
be  obliterated.*   But  Mr.  Asbury  remained  the  preaching, 

♦  Dr.  Coke  connected  himself  with  Mr.  Wesley  in  1776,  as  stated 
by  the  latter  in  his  journal : — "  Being  at  Kingston,  near  Taunton,  1 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


251 


.  .veiling,  self-denying  bishop  of  the  American  societies, 
.  .  afterwards  others  were  associated  with  him,  plain  and 
.-luiple  in  their  manners  as  the  rest  of  their  brethren,  and 
distinguished  from  them  only  by  "  labours  more  abundant." 

It  was  by  thus  absurdly  confomiding  episcopacy  in  the 
modern  acceptation,  and  in  Mr.  Wesley's  view,  that  a  good 
dial  of  misplaced  wit  was  played  off  on  this  occasion;  and 
Udi  a  little  bitterness  was  expressed  by  many.  He,  however, 
performed  a  great  and  a  good  work,  and  not  only  provided 
for  the  spiritual  wants  of  a  people  who  indirectly  had 
sjirung  from  his  labours  ;  but  gave  to  the  American  church 
a  form  of  administration  admirably  suited  to  a  new  and 
t  xtensi%-e  empire,  and,  under  which,  the  societies  have,  by 
the  divine  blessing,  prospered  beyond  aU  precedent.  Some 
k'lters  passed  between  him  and  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  on  the 
subject  of  the  American  ordinations.  The  first,  wi-itten  by 
Charles,  was  warm,  and  remonstrative  ;  the  second,  upon 
receiving  his  brother's  calm  answer,  was  more  mild,  and 
shows,  that  he  was  less  afraid  of  what  his  brother  had  done 
for  America,  than  that  Dr.  Coke,  on  his  return,  sliould  form 
the  Methodists  of  England  into  a  regular  and  separate 
church  also  !  The  concluding  paragraph  of  this  letter  is, 
however,  so  affecting,  so  illustrative  of  that  oneness  of  heart, 
■which  no  difference  of  opinion  between  the  brothers  could 
destroy,  that  it  would  be  unjust  to  the  memory  of  both,  not 
to  insert  it : — 

"  I  thank  you  for  3-our  intention  to  remain  my  friend. 
Herein  my  heart  is  as  your  heart.  WTiom  God  hath  joined, 
lei  not  man  put  asunder.  We  have  taken  each  other  for 
better  for  worse,  till  death  do  us— part  ?  no  :  but  eternally 
unite.  Therefore,  in  the  love  which  never  faileth, 
"lam 

"  Your  affectionate  friend  and  brother, 

"C.  WESLEY." 

Some  time  after  this,  Mr.  Wesley  appointed  several  of  the 

found  a  clcrgyinan,  Dr.  Coke,  late  gentleman  commoner  of  Jesus 
College,  in  Oxford,  who  came  twenty  miles  on  purpose.  I  had  much 
conversation  witli  him,  and  a  union  then  becran,  which,  I  trust,  shall 
never  end."  His  name  did  not  appear  on  the  minutes  till  the  year 
1778.    In  that  year  he  was  appointed  to  labour  in  London. 


252 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


English  prepchers,  by  imposition  of  hands,  to  administer 
the  sacraments  to  tlie  societies  in  Scotland.  There  the 
English  establishment  did  not  extend,  and  a  necessity  of  a 
somewhat  similar  kind  existed,  though  not  of  so  pressing  a 
nature  as  in  America.  He,  however,  steadily  objected  to 
give  this  liberty,  generally,  to  his  preachers  in  England  ; 
and  those  who  administered  the  sacraments  in  Scotland  were 
not  permitted  to  perform  the  same  office  in  England  upon 
their  return.  The  reason  why  he  refused  to  appoint  in  the 
same  manner,  and  for  the  same  purpose,  for  England,  is 
stated  in  the  letter  above  given.  He  was  satisfied  of  his 
power,  as  a  presbyter,  to  ordain  for  such  an  administration ; 
but,  he  says,  "  I  have  still  refused,  not  only  for  peace  sake, 
but,  because  I  was  determined  as  little  as  possible  to  violate 
the  established  order  of  the  national  church  to  which  I  be- 
longed." This  was  a  prudent  principle  most  sincerely  held 
by  him ;  and  it  explains  his  conduct  in  those  particulars  for 
which  he  has  been  censured  by  opposite  parties.  When  it 
could  not  be  avoided,  without  sacrificing  some  real  good,  he 
did  violate  "  the  established  order,"  thinking  that  this  order 
"was  in  itself  merely  prudential.  When  that  necessity  did 
not  exist,  his  own  predilections,  and  the  prejudices  of  many 
members  of  his  societies,  enforced  upon  him  this  abstinence 
from  innovation.  It  may,  however,  be  asked,  in  what  light 
Mr.  Wesley's  appointments  to  the  ministry,  in  the  case  of 
his  own  preachers,  ought  to  be  viewed.  That  they  were 
ordinations  to  the  work  and  office  of  the  ministry,  cannot 
be  reasonably  and  scripturally  doubted  ;  and  that  they  were 
so  in  his  own  intention,  we  have  before  shown  from  his  own 
minutes.  It  was  required  of  them,  as  early  as  1746,  to  pro- 
fess to  be  "  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  to  be  called  of 
God  to  preach."  This  professed  call  was  to  be  tested  by 
their  piety,  their  gifts,  and  their  usefulness  ;  all  which  points 
were  investigated  ;  and  after  probation  they  were  solemnly 
received  by  prayer  "  to  labour  with  him  in  the  Gospel ;" 
and  from  that  time  were  devoted  wholly  to  their  spiritual 
work,*  including  the  pastoral  care  of  societies.   Here  was 

*  It  is  observable,  that  in  the  conference  of  1768  he  enjoined  ab- 
stinence from  all  secular  things  upon  them,  both  on  the  scriptural 
principle,  1  Tim.  iv.  13,  and  on  the  ground,  that  the  church,  "  in  her 
office  of  ordination,"  required  tliis  of  ministers. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


253 


ordination,  though  without  imposition  of  hands,  which,  al- 
though an  impressive  ceremony,  enters  not,  as  both  the 
Scriptures  and  the  nature  of  the  thing  itself  point  out,  into 
the  essence  of  ordination  ;  which  is  a  separation  of  men,  by 
ministers,  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  by  solemn  prayer. 
Tliis  was  done  at  every  conference,  by  Mr.  Wesley,  who,  as 
he  l>ad,  as  early  as  1747,  given  up  the  uninterrupted  succes- 
sion and  the  distinct  order  of  bishops  as  a  fable,  left  himself, 
therefore,  at  liberty  to  appoint  to  tlie  ministry  in  his  own 
^\  ay.  He  made,  it  is  true,  a  distinction  at  one  time  between 
■  '  primitive  oflices  of  evangelists  or  teachers,  and  pastors, 
n  the  right  of  giving  the  sacraments,  which  he  thought 
.onged  to  the  latter  only;  but  as  this  implied,  that  the  pri- 
mitive pastors  had  powers,  which  the  primitive  evangelists, 
wlio  ordained  them,  had  not,  it  was  too  unsupported  a  no- 
tion for  him  long  to  maintain.*  Yet,  had  this  view  of  the 
case  been  allowed,  the  preachers  were  not  mere  teachers,  but 
pastors  in  the  fullest  sense.  They  not  only  taught,  but 
guided,  and  managed  the  societies ;  receiving  members,  ex- 
cluding members,  and  administering  private,  as  well  as  pub- 
lic, admonitions;  and  if  they  were  constituted  teachers  and 
pastors  by  his  ordination,  witliout  the  circumstance  of  the 
hnposition  of  hands,  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  conceive  that 
that  ceremony  conveyed  any  larger  right,  0.5  such,  to  ad- 
minister the  sacraments,  in  the  case  of  the  few  he  did  ordain 
in  that  manner  for  Scotland  and  America.  As  to  them  it 
was  a  form  of  permission  and  appoint meni  to  exercise  the 
right.  His  appointments  to  the  ministry  every  conference, 
necessarily  conveyed  all  the  rights  of  a  pastor,  l>eoausp  they 
conveyed  the  pastoral  office;  but  still  it  did  not  follow,  that 
all  the  abstract  rights  of  the  ministry,  thus  com  eyed  to  the 
body  of  the  preachers,  should  be  actually  used.  It  was  not 
I  imperative  upon  them  to  exercise  all  their  functions;  and  he 
I  assumed  no  improper  authority  as  the  father  and  founder  of 
the  connexion,  to  determine  to  what  extent  it  was  prudent 
j  to  exercise  them,  provided  he  was  satisfied  that  tli€  sacra- 
I  ments  were  not  put  out  of  the  power  of  tlie  societies  to  ob- 
serve. He  exercised  this  suspending  authority  even  over 
those  preachers  whom  he  appointed  to  give  the  sacraments 


♦  See  Moore's  Life  of  Wesley,  Vol.  II.  p.  340. 
22 


254 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


in  Scotland,  by  prohibiting  them  from  administering  in  the 

English  societies,  over  which  they  became  pastors.  So  ht- 
tle  difference  did  his  ordination  by  imposition  of  hands 
make  in  their  case,  even  in  his  own  estimation.*  It  was, 
■wlien  it  followed  the  usual  mode  of  introducing  candidates 
into  the  ministry,  a  mere  form  of  permission  to  exercise  a 
previous  right  in  a  particular  place,  and  a  solemn  designa- 
tion to  this  service  according  to  a  liturgical  form  which  he 
greatly  admired  ;  but  tiie  true  ordination  of  those  who  were 
so  set  apart  to  administer  the  sacraments  to  the  ministry  it- 
self, M'as  the  same  as  that  of  the  rest  of  their  brethren,  and 
took  place  at  the  same  time.  Thus,  in  Mr.  Wesley's  strong- 
est language  to  Mr.  Charles  Perronet  and  the  other  preachers 
who  thought  it  their  duty  to  administer,  he  places  his  objec- 
tion upon  the  decisive  ground  of  his  thinking  it  "  a  sin  ;" 
but  not  from  their  want  of  true  ordination,  to  which  he 
makes  no  allusion  ;t  but  he  thought  it  sinful,  because  it 
Avould  be  injurious  to  the  work  of  God,  and  so  contrary  to 
his  word  and  will.  That  it  was  not  in  his  view  "  a  sin,"  for 
want  of  mere  imposition  of  hands,  is  clear  from  the  facts, 
that,  in  one  case,  he  gave  to  one  of  the  preachers  leave  to 
baptize  and  give  the  sacrament  in  particular  circumstances, 
although  he  had  no  other  ordination  than  his  being  "  received 
into  full  connexion"  at  the  conference,  like  the  rest;  and  al- 
lowed two  others,  Mr.  Highfield,  in  England,  and  Mr.  Myles, 
in  Dublin,  to  assist  him  in  giving  the  sacrament,  to  the  great 
offence  of  the  church  people  there.J   That  the  original  de- 

*  Whon  a  few  of  the  preachers  received  ordination  from  a  Greek 
bishop,  tlien  in  England,  and  from  whom  he  was  falsely  reported  him- 
self to  have  sought  ronseerution,  he  would  not  suffer  them  to  adminis- 
ter, although  lie  did  not  doubt  that  the  Greek  was  a  true  bishop. 

t  As  early  as  175fi,  he  says  to  some  of  the  preachers,  "  You  think 
it  is  a  duty  to  administer.  Do  so,  and  therein  follow  yoiu"  own  con- 
science." That  is,  they  were  at  Hberty  to  leave  him ;  but  not  a  word 
about  the  invalidity  of  their  appointment  to  the  whole  work  of  the 
ministry. 

t  Mr.  Wesley's  innovations  on  church-order  in  Dublin  apjiear, 
from  several  of  his  letters,  to  have  ])roduccd  somewhat  outrageous  at- 
tacks upon  him  from  several  quarters  in  that  city.  In  one  of  them  he 
says,  "  Every  week  I  am  besj)attered  in  the  public  i)apers.  Many- 
are  in  tears  on  the  occasion;  many  terribly  frightened,  and  crj'ing 
out,  '  O  what  will  the  end  be  V  What  will  it  be  1  Why,  glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  and  peace  and  good  will  among  men,"   Such  was 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


255 


signation  of  the  preachers  to  the  ministry  was  considered  by 
the  conferences  after  his  death, — when  they  were  obliged, 
in  order  to  meet  the  spiritual  wants  and  scriptural  demands 
of  the  people,  to  administer  tlie  Lord's  supper  to  the  socie- 
ties in  England, — as  a  true  and  full  ordination  to  the  whole 
"  office  of  the  Christian  ministry,  is  clear  from  their  authori- 
zing the  preachers  to  give  the  sacraments,  when  requested 
by  the  societies,  without  reordination  for  this  purpose,  al- 
though they  had  Mr.  Wesley's  Presbyterian  ordination  by 
imposition  of  hands  among  themselves,  and  at  their  com- 
mand, if  they  had  judged  it  necessary  to  employ  it.  Their 
whole  proceeding  in  this  respect  was  merely  to  grant  per- 
mission to  exercise  powers  which  the}'  believed  to  have  been 
previously  conveyed  by  Mr.  Wesley,  in  doing  which  they 
diflfered  from  him  only  in  not  marking  that  permission  with 
any  new  form.  Perhaps  it  might  have  been  an  improve- 
ment, had  they  accompanied  all  their  future  ordinations  by 
the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  president  for  the  time  be- 
ing, assisted  by  a  few  of  the  senior  preachers,  and  by  using 
the  fine  ordination  service  of  the  church  of  England:  not,  in- 
deed, that  this  would  have  given  a  title  more  of  validity  to 
the  act ;  but  the  imposition  of  hands  would  have  been  in 
conformity  to  the  usage  of  the  majority  of  churches,  and  an 
instance  of  deference  to  an  ancient  scriptural  form  of  solemn 
designation  and  blessing,  used  on  various  occasions.  The 
whole  of  IMr.  Wesley's  proceedings,  both  as  to  America  and 
Scotland,  would  have  been  as  valid  on  scriptural  grounds, 
had  there  been  no  other  form  used  than  simple  prayer  for 
men,  already  in  the  ministry,  going  forth  on  an  important 
"mission  ;  but  as  the  New  Testament  exhibited  a  profitable 
ex'ample  of  imposition  of  hands  in  the  case  of  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas, who  had  been  long  before  ordained  to  the  highest  or- 
der of  the  miiiistrj',  when  sent  forth  into  a  new  field  of  la- 
bour, this  example  was  followed.* 

his  rcjoindpT  to  these  h\^h  clmrrh  .ilarms.  At  the  same  time  it  must 
be  conceded,  that,  however  failliful  Mr.  Wesley  was  in  abiding  by  his 
leadintr  principle  of  makin<i  mere  adherence  to  what  was  called  "  re- 
gular," give  place  to  tlie  hifiher  obligation  of  doing  good,  he  was 
sometimes  apt.  in  defending  himself,  to  be  too  tenacious  of  appearing 
perfectly  consistent. 

*  F'rom  the  preceding  observations,  it  will  appear  that  Mr.  Wesley's 
ordinations,  both  for  America  and  Scotland,  stood  upon  much  the 


258 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


But  we  return  to  the  continued  and  unabated  laliours  of 
this  venerable  servant  of  God.  In  1786,  at  the  Bristol  con- 
ference, the  old  subject  of  separating  from  the  church  was 
again  discussed,  and,  "  without  one  dissenting  voice,"  it  was 
determined  to  continue  therein;  "  which  determination,"  he 

same  ground.  The  full  powers  of  the  ministry  had  before  been  con- 
veyed to  the  parties ;  but  now  they  had  a  special  designation  to  exer- 
cise them  in  every  respect  in  a  new  and  peculiar  sphere.  Still  their 
ordination  by  imposition  of  hands,  did  not  imply  that  their  former  or- 
dination was  dclicicnt,  as  to  the  rig-/(<  of  administering  the  sacraments 
which  it  conveyed ;  for  then,  how  came  Dr.  Coke,  who  was  already  a 
presbyter  of  the  church  of  England,  to  be  ordained  again,  when,  accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Wesley's  own  view,  he  could  not  be  higher  in  order  than 
a  presbjrter,  although  his  powers  might  be  enlarged  as  to  their  appli- 
cation'? The  confrreiico  after  Mr.  Wesley's  death  took  therefore  the 
true  ground,  in  considering  the  act  of  admission  into  the  ministry,  so 
as  to  be  devoted  wliolly  to  it,  and  to  exercise  the  pastoral  charge,  to  be 
a  true  and  scriptural  ordination  both  to  preach  the  word,  and  to  ad- 
minister the  sacraments ;  making  wlioUy  light  of  the  absurd  preten- 
sions of  a  few  among  the  preachers,  who  thought  that  they  had  re- 
ceived something  more  than  their  brethren  from  the  mere  ceremony 
of  the  imposition  of  Mr.  Wesley's  hands,  subsequent  to  their  ordinary 
appointment  by  him  when  received  into  the  body.  Some  of  these  at 
the  first  conference  after  Mr.  Wesley's  death,  stood  upon  this  point ; 
but  Mr.  Benson  refuted  their  notion,  that  imposition  of  hands  was  es- 
sential to  ordination.  He  proved  from  the  New  Testament  that  this 
was  but  a  circmnstance,  and  showed  that  the  body  had  always  possess- 
ed a  ministry  scripturally  and  therefore  validly  ordained,  although  not 
in  the  most  customary  or  perhaps  not  in  the  most  influential  form. 
With  Mr.  Benson  the  conference  coincided;  so  that  ordination, 
without  imposition  of  hands,  lias  continued  to  be  the  general  practice 
to  the  present  time.  It  is  remarkable,  that  the  few  preachers  who  in- 
sisted upon  imposition  of  hands  being  essential  to  ordination,  and 
plmned  themselves  upon  being  distinguished  from  their  brethren  be- 
cause Mr.  Wesley's  hands  had  been  laid  upon  them,  did  not  remem- 
ber a  passage  in  a  published  letter  of  Mr.  Wesley  to  Mr.  Walker,  of 
Truro,  dated  as  long  before  as  175G,  which  sufficiently  shows  how  to- 
tally disconnected  the  two  things  were  in  his  mind;  or  that,  if  they 
adverted  to  it,  its  bearing  in  his  controversy  with  Mr.  Walker  should 
not  have  been  pcrceivei'  :  "  That  the  seven  deacons  were  outv*'ardly 
ordained  even  to  that  low  office,  cannot  be  denied.  But  Paul  and 
Barnabas  were  separated  for  the  work  to  which  they  were  called. 
This  was  not  ordaining  them  ;  it  was  only  inducting  them  to  the 
province  for  which  our  Lord  had  appointed  them.  For  this  end  the 
prophets  and  t;>achcrs  fasted,  prayed,  and  '  laid  their  hands  upon 
them,'  a  rite  which  was  used,  not  in  ordination  only,  biU  in  blessing, 
and  on  many  other  occasions." 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


257 


remarks,  "  will,  I  doubt  not,  stand,  at  least  till  I  am  removed 
into  a  better  world."  After  the  conference  was  concluded, 
he  paid  a  second  visit  to  Holland,  in  company  with  Mr. 
Brackcnbury  and  Mr.  Broadbcnt,  preached  in  various  places, 
expounded  to  private  companies,  and  engaged  in  conversa- 
tion with  many  learned  and  pious  individuals.  On  his  return 
to  England,  his  journal  presents  the  usual  record  of  constant 
preaching  and  travelling,  interspersed  with  useful  remark, 
and  incident.  A  few  gleanings  from  it  will  be  read  with 
interest : — 

"  Dec.  23,  1786.  By  great  importunity  I  was  induced 
(having  little  hope  of  doing  good)  to  visit  two  of  the  felons 
in  Newgate,  who  lay  under  sentence  of  death.  They  ap- 
peared serious :  but  I  can  lay  little  stress  on  appearances  of 
this  kind.  However,  I  wrote  in  their  behalf  to  a  great  man. 
And  perhaps  it  was  in  consequence  of  this  that  they  had  a 
reprieve. 

"  Sunday  21.  I  was  desired  to  preach  at  the  Old  Jewry  ; 
but  the  cliurch  was  cold,  and  so  was  the  congregation.  We 
had  congregations  of  another  kind  the  next  day,  Christmas 
day,  at  four  in  the  morning,  as  well  as  five  in  the  evening, 
at  the  new  chapel,  and  at  West-street  chapel  about  noon. 

"Sunday  31.  From  those  words  of"  Isaiah  to  Hezekiah, 
'  set  thy  house  in  order,'  I  strongly  exhorted  all  who  had 
not  done  it  already,  1o  settle  their  temporal  affairs  without 
delay.  It  is  a  strange  madness  which  still  possesses  many 
who  are  in  other  respects  men  of  understanding,  that  they 
put  this  off  from  day  to  day,  till  death  comes  in  an  hour 
when  they  looked  not  for  it. 

"  Friday,  Jan.  5,  1787,  and  in  the  vacant  hours  of  the  fol- 
lowing days,  I  read  Dr.  Hunter's  lectures.  They  are  very 
lively  and  ingenious.  The  language  is  good,  and  the  thoughts 
generally  just.  But  they  do  not  suit  my  taste.  I  do  not 
admire  that  florid  way  of  writing.  Good  sense  does  not 
need  to  be  so  studiously  adorned.  I  love  St.  John's  style,  as 
well  as  matter. 

"  Sunday,  Feb.  25.  After  taking  a  solemn  leave  of  our 
friends,  both  at  West-street  and  the  new  chapel,  I  took  the 
mail  coach,  and  the  next  evening  reached  Exeter  a  little  after 
ten  o'clock.  Tuesday  27.  We  went  on  to  Plymouth  Dock. 
The  large,  new  house,  far  the  best  in  the  west  of  England 


258 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


was  well  filled,  though  on  so  short  a  warning :  and  they 
seemed  cordially  to  receive  the  exhortation,  'rejoice  in  the 
Lord,  O  ye  righteous.'  I  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  the  so- 
ciety here  in  a  more  flourishing  state  than  ever.  Notwith- 
standing all  tlie  pains  tliat  have  been  talicn,  and  all  the  art 
that  has  been  used  to  tear  them  asunder,  they  cleave  close 
together,  and  consequently  increase  in  number  as  well  as  in 
strength. 

"  Wednesday,  March  7.  It  rained  much  while  we  were  at 
Plymouth  and  at  the  dock,  and  most  of  the  way  from  the 
dock  to  Exeter.  But  we  had  lovely  M^eather  to-day,  and 
came  into  Batli  early  in  the  evening.  So  crowded  a  house 
I  had  not  seen  here  for  many  years.  I  fully  delivered  my 
own  soul,  by  strongly  enforcing  those  awful  words,  'many 
are  called,  but  few  are  chosen.'  I  believe  the  word  sunk 
deep  into  many  hearts.  The  next  evening  we  had  another 
large  congregation  equally  serious.  Thursday  8.  I  went  on 
to  Bristol,  and  the  same  afternoon  Mrs.  Fletcher  came  thither 
from  Madeley.  The  congregation  in  the  evening  was  ex- 
ceedingly large.  I  took  knowledge  what  spirit  they  were 
of.  Indeed  the  M'ork  of  God  has  much  increased  in  Bristol 
since  I  was  here  last,  especially  among  the  young  men,  ma- 
ny of  whom  are  a  pattern  to  all  the  society. 

"  Monday,  April  3.  About  noon  I  preached  at  Stockport, 
and  in  the  evening  at  Manchester,  where  I  fully  delivered 
my  own  soul,  both  then  and  the  next  day.  Wednesday  4, 
I  went  to  Chester,  and  preached  in  the  evening  on  Heb.  iii. 
12.  Finding  there  was  no  packet  at  Parkgate,  I  immediately 
took  places  in  the  mail  coach  for  Holyhead.  The  porter 
called  us  at  two  in  the  morning  on  Thursday,  but  came  again 
in  half  an  hour  to  inform  us  the  coach  was  full :  so  they 
returned  my  money,  and  at  four  I  took  a  post  chaise.  We 
overtook  the  coach  at  Conway,  and  crossing  the  ferry  with 
the  passengers,  went  forward  without  delay ;  so  we  came  to 
Holyhead  an  hour  before  them,  and  went  on  board  between 
eleven  and  twelve  o'clock.  At  one  we  left  the  harbour,  and 
at  two  the  next  day  came  into  Dublin  Bay. 

"  On  the  road,  and  in  the  ship,  I  read  Mr.  Blackwell's  'Sa- 
cred Classics  Illustrated  and  Defended.'  I  think  he  fully 
proves  his  point,  that  there  are  no  expressions  in  the  New 
Testament  which  are  not  found  in  the  best  and  purest  Greek 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


359 


authors.  In  the  evening  we  had  a  Sunday's  congregation, 
and  a  blessing  from  on  high. 

"Sunday  8.  (Easter  day.)  I  preached  in  Bethesda,  Mr. 
Smyth's  new  chapel :  it  is  \ery  neat,  but  not  gay,  and  I  be- 
lieve will  hold  about  as  many  people  as  West-street  chapel. 
Mr.  Smyth  read  prayers,  and  gave  out  the  hymns,  which 
were  sung  by  fifteen  or  twenty  fine  singers:  the  rest  of  the 
congregation  listening  with  much  attention,  and  as  much 
devotion  as  they  would  have  done  to  an  opera.  But  is  this 
Christian  worship?  Or  ought  it  ever  to  be  suffered  in  a 
Christian  church  ?  It  was  thought  we  had  between  seven 
and  eight  hundred  communicants :  and  indeed  the  power  of 
God  was  in  the  midst  of  them.  Our  own  room  in  the  even- 
ing was  well  filled  with  people,  and  with  the  presence  of 
God. 

'•On  Monday  and  Tuesday  I  preached  again  at  Bethesda, 
and  God  touched  several  hearts,  even  of  the  rich  and  great : 
so  that,  for  the  time  at  least,  they  were  '  almost  persuaded  to 
be  Christians.'  It  seems  as  if  the  good  Providence  of  God 
had  prepared  this  place  for  those  rich  and  honourable  sin- 
ners who  will  not  deign  to  receive  any  message  from  God, 
but  in  a  genteel  way. 

"  Friday  27.  We  went  to  Kilkenny,  nine  and  twenty  Irish 
miles  from  Mount-Mellick.  Religion  was  here  at  a  low  ebb, 
and  scarcely  any  society  left,  when  God  sent  three  troop  of 
horse.  Several  of  the  men  are  full  of  faith  and  love ;  since 
they  came,  the  work  of  God  has  revived.  I  never  saw  the 
house  so  filled  since  it  was  built.  And  the  power  of  God 
Beemed  to  rest  upon  the  congregation,  as  if  he  would  still 
have  a  people  in  this  place. 

"  Wed.  April  9.  We  went  to  Bandon :  here  also  there  has 
been  a  remarkable  work  of  God,  and  yet  not  without  many 
backsliders.  It  was  therefore  my  chief  business  to  strength- 
en the  weak,  and  recall  the  wanderers.  So  in  the  evening  I 
preached  in  the  assembly-room,  (which  was  offered  me  by 
the  provost,)  on, '  How  shall  I  give  thee  up,  Epliraim  ?' — 
and  God  applied  his  word.  At  noon  we  took  a  walk  to  Cas- 
tle Barnard.  Mr.  Barnard  has  given  it  a  beautiful  front, 
nearly  resembling  that  of  Lord  Mansfield's  house  at  Caen- 
Wood,  and  opened  part  of  his  lovely  park  to  the  house, 
which  I  thiiik  has  now  as  beautiful  a  situation  as  Rocking^- 


260 


LIFE  or  WESLEY. 


liam-house  in  Yorkshire.  Mr.  Barnard  much  resembles,  in 
person  and  air,  the  late  Sir  George  Saville.  Though  lie  is  far 
the  riclicst  person  in  these  parts,  he  keeps  no  race-horses  or 
liounds,  but  loves  his  wife  and  home,  and  spends  his  time 
and  fortune  in  improving  his  estate,  and  employing  the 
poor.  Gentlemen  of  this  spirit  are  a  blessing  to  their 
neighbourhood.    May  God  increase  their  number ! 

"  In  the  evening,  finding  no  building  would  contain  the 
congregation,  I  stood  in  the  main  street,  and  testified  to  a 
listening  multitude,  '  This  is  not  your  rest.'  I  then  adminis- 
tered tlie  Lord's  supper  to  the  society,  and  God  gave  us  a 
remarkable  blessing. 

"  Friday,  May  25.  I  had  a  day  of  rest  in  this  lovely  fami- 
ly, (Mr.  Slack's,)  only  preaching  morning  and  evening. 
Saturday  26.  I  preached  at  Eallyconnel  about  eleven.  In 
the  afternoon  I  took  a  walk  in  the  bishop  of  Kilmore's 
garden.  The  house  is  finely  situated  ;  has  two  fronts,  and 
is  fit  for  a  nobleman.  We  then  went  into  the  church-yard, 
and  saw  the  venerable  tomb,  a  plain  flat  stone  inscribed, 
'  Deposilum  GuUelm.i  Bedd,qtiondam  Episcopi  Kilnioretisis  •' 
over  whom  even  the  rebel  army  sung,  '  Requiescat  in  pace 
7i!tiinus  Anglorum.''  '  Let  the  last  of  the  Englishmen  rest 
in  peace.'  At  seven  I  preached  to  a  large  congregation  :  it 
blew  a  storm,  but  most  of  the  congregation  were  covered  by 
a  kind  of  shed  raised  for  the  purpose:  and  not  a  few  were 
greatly  comforted. 

"  Tuesday  29.  One  of  my  horses  I  was  obliged  to  leave 
in  Dublin,  and  afterwards  another ;  having  bought  two  to 
supply  their  places.  The  third  soon  got  a  swelling  in  his 
shoulder,  so  that  we  doubted  whether  we  could  go  on.  And 
a  boy  at  Clones,  riding  (I  suppose  galloping)  the  fourth 
over  stones,  the  horse  fell  and  nearly  lamed  himself:  how- 
ever, we  went  on  softly  to  Aughalun,  and  found  such  a  con- 
gregation as  I  had  not  seen  before  in  the  kingdom.  The 
tent  (that  is,  a  covered  pulpit)  was  placed  at  the  foot  of  a 
green,  sloping  mountain,  on  the  side  of  which  the  huge 
jnultitude  sat  (as  their  manner  is)  row  above  row.  While  I 
Avas  explaining,  'God  hath  given  unto  us  his  Holy  Spirit,' 
he  was  indeed  poured  out  in  a  wonderful  manner.  Tears 
of  joy,  and  cries  were  heard  on  every  side :  only  so  far 
suppressed  as  not  to  drown  my  voice.   I  cannot  but  hope 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


261 


tliat  many  will  have  cause  to  bless  God  for  that  hour  to  all 
eternity. 

Thursday  31.  We  went  over  mountains  and  dales  to 
Kerlish-Lodge,  where  we  met  with  a  hearty  welcome,  both 
from  Alexander  Boyle,  and  his  amiable  wife,  who  are  pat- 
terns to  all  the  country.  Mr.  Boyle  had  spoken  to  Dr. 
Wilson,  the  rector  of  a  neighbouring  town,  concerning  my 
preaching  in  the  church,  who  wrote  to  the  bishop,  and 
received  a  letter  in  answer,  giving  a  full  and  free  consent. 
The  doctor  desired  me  to  breakfast  ^^^th  him.  Meantime 
one  of  his  parishioners,  a  warm  secedcr,  took  away  the  key 
of  the  church,  so  I  preached  in  a  neighbouring  orchard :  I 
believe  not  in  vain.  The  rector  and  his  wife  were  in  the 
front  of  the  congregation.  Afterward  we  took  a  vieAV  of 
Lord  Abercorn's  place.  The  house  has  a  lovely  situation  : 
and  the  front  of  it  is  as  elegant  as  any  I  have  seen  either  in 
Great  Britain  or  Ireland.  The  grounds  are  delightful  in- 
deed, perhaps  equal  to  any  in  the  kingdom. 

•'  About  five  in  the  evening  I  preached  at  Killrail.  No 
],i>use  would  contain  the  congregation ;  so  I  preached  in  the 
open  air.  The  wind  Avas  piercingly  cold,  but  the  people 
regarded  it  not.  Afterwards  I  administered  the  Lord's  sup- 
per to  about  a  hundred  of  them,  and  then  slept  in  peace. 

"  Wednesday,  June  6.  I  took  leave  of  my  dear  friends  at 
Londonderry,  and  drove  to  Newton-Limavady.  I  had  no 
design  to  preach  there.  But  while  we  were  at  breakfast, 
the  people  were  gathered  so  fast  that  I  could  not  deny  them. 
The  house  was  soon  filled  from  end  to  end.  I  explained  to 
them  the  fellowship  believers  have  with  God.  Thence  I 
went  on  to  Colerain,  and  preached  at  six,  (as  I  did  two  years 
ago,)  in  the  barrack-yard.  The  wind  was  high  and  sharp 
enough  ;  but  the  people  here  are  good  old  soldiers.  Many 
attended  at  five  in  the  morning,  and  a  large  congregation 
about  six  in  the  evening;  most  of  whom,  I  believe,  tasted 
the  good  word ;  for  God  was  with  us  of  a  tnith. 

"  Tuesday  12th.  We  came  through  a  most  beautiful 
country  to  Downpatrick_.  a  much  larger  town  than  I  ima- 
gined ;  I  think,  not  much  inferior  to  Sligo.  The  evening 
Avas  uncommonly  mild  and  bright,  there  not  being  a  cloud 
in  the  sky.  The  tall  firs  shaded  us  on  every  side,  and  the 
fruitful  fields  were  spread  all  around.   The  people  were,  I 


262 


LIFE  OF  -WESLEY. 


think,  half  as  many  more  as  were  at  Lisburn  even  on  Sun- 
day evening.  On  them  I  enforced  those  important  words, 
'  Acquaint  thyself  now  with  him,  and  be  at  peace.' 

"  Wednesday  13th.  Being  informed  we  had  only  six  and 
twenty  miles  to  go,  we  did  not  set  out  till  between  six  and 
seven.  The  country  was  uncommonly  pleasant,  running 
between  two  high  ridges  of  mountains  ;  but  it  was  up  hill  and 
down  all  the  way,  so  tliat  we  did  not  reach  Ealhfriland  till 
nearly  noon.  Mr.  Barber,  the  Presbyterian  minister,  (a 
princely  personage,  I  believe  six  feet  and  a  half  high,)  offer- 
ing me  his  new,  spacious  preaching-house,  the  congregation 
quickly  gathered  togellier.  I  began  without  delay  to  open 
and  enforce, '  Now  God  commandeth  all  men,  everywhere, 
to  repent.'  I  took  chaise  the  instant  I  had  done ;  but  the 
road  being  still  up  hill  and  down,  we  were  two  hours  going 
what  they  called  six  miles.  I  then  quitted  the  chaise,  and 
rode  forwar.l.  But  even  then,  four  miles,  so  calied,  took  an 
hour  and  a  half  riding ;  so  that  I  did  not  reach  Dr.  Lesley's, 
at  Tandaragree,  till  half  an  hour  past  four.  About  six  I 
stood  upon  the  steps  at  Mr.  Godly's  door,  and  preached  on, 
'  This  is  not  your  rest,'  to  a  larger  congregation,  by  a  third, 
tlian  even  tliat  at  Downpatrick.  I  scarcely  remember  to  have 
seen  a  larger,  unless  in  London,  Yorkshire,  or  Cornwall. 

"  Tuesday  26th. — Dublin.  We  were  agreeably  surprised 
with  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Coke,  who  came  from  Philadelphia 
in  nine  and  twenty  days,  and  gave  us  a  pleasing  account  of 
the  work  of  God  in  America.  Thursday  28th.  I  had  a 
conversation  with  Mr.  Howard,  I  think  one  of  the  greatest 
men  in  Europe.  Nothing  but  the  mighty  power  of  God  can 
enable  him  to  go  through  his  difficult  and  dangerous  em- 
ployments.   But  what  can  hurt  us,  if  God  be  on  our  side  ? 

"  Sunday,  July  22d. — Manchester.  Our  service  began  at 
ten.  Notwithstanding  the  severe  cold,  which  has  continued 
many  days,  the  house  was'  well  filled ;  but  my  work  was 
easy,  as  Dr.  Coke  assisted  me.  As  many  as  could  crowded 
in,  in  the  evening  ;  but  many  were  obliged  to  go  away.  Af- 
terwards I  spent  a  comfortable  hour  M'ilh  the  society. 

"  Friday  27th.  We  went  on  to  Bolton.  Here  are  eight 
hundred  poor  children  taught  in  our  Sunday-schools  by 
about  eighty  masters,  who  receive  no  pay  but  what  they 
are  to  receive  from  their  great  Master.   About  a  hundred  of 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


2G3 


ill  em,  part  boys  and  part  girls,  are  taught  to  sing.  And  they 
s,\iig  so  true,  that,  all  singing  together,  they  seemed  to  be 
Init  one  voice.  The  house  was  thoroughly  filled,  while  I 
('\[ilained  and  applied  the  first  and  great  commandment. 
>\  liat  is  all  morality  or  religion  withoi;;  this?  A  mere 
l  asilc  in  the  air.  In  the  evening,  many  of  the  children  still 
hovering  round  the  house,  I  desired  forty  or  fifty  to  come  in 
and  sing, 

'  Vital  spark  of  heavenly  flame.' 

Although  some  of  them  were  silent,  not  being  able  to  sing 
(oY  tears,  yet  the  harmony  was  such  as  I  believe  could  not 
he  equalled  in  the  king's  chapel. 

••  Monday,  August  6th.  Having  taken  the  whole  coach 
Birmingham,  we  set  out,  expecting  to  be  there,  as  usual, 
lit  five  in  the  evening.  But  having  six  persons  within, 
ami  eight  without,  the  coach  could  not  bear  the  burden,  but 
broke  down  before  three  in  the  morning.  Having  patched 
it  together  as  well  as  we  could,  we  went  on  to  Congleton, 
and  got  another.  In  an  hour  or  two  this  broke  also;  and 
one  of  the  horses  was  so  thoroughly  tired,  that  he  could 
hardly  set  one  foot  before  the  other.  After  all  these  hinder- 
ances,  we  got  to  Birmingham  just  at  seven.  Finding  a  large 
congregation  waiting.  I  stepped  out  of  the  coach  into  the 
house,  and  began  preaching  without  delay.  And  such  was 
the  goodness  of  God,  that  I  found  no  more  weariness  when 
I  had  done,  than  if  I  had  rested  all  the  day. 

"  Here  I  took  a  tender  leave  of  Mrs.  Heath  and  her  lovely 
daughters,  about  to  embark  with  Mr.  Heath  for  America, 
whom  I  hardly  expect  to  see  any  more  till  we  meet  in  Abra- 
ham's bosom. 

"Friday  10th. — Southampton.  At  six  I  preached  on  He- 
brews iv.  14.  In  the  afternoon  I  went  with  a  gentleman 
(Mr.  Taylor)  to  hear  the  famous  musician  that  plays  upon 
the  glasses.  By  my  appearing  there  (as  I  had  foreseen)  a 
heap  of  gentry  attended  in  the  evening.  And  I  believe  se- 
veral of  them,  as  well  as  Mr.  T.  himself,  did  not  come  in 
vain. 

"  Tuesday  14th.  Sailing  on  with  a  fair  wind,  we  fully 
expected  to  reach  Guernsey  in  the  afternoon  ;  but  the  wind 
turning  contrary,  and  blowing  hard,  we  found  that  would 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


be  impossible.  We  then  judged  it  best  to  put  in  at  the  isle 
of  Alderney  ;  but  we  were  very  near  being  shipwrecked  in 
the  bay.  About  eight  I  went  down  to  a  convenient  spot  on 
the  beach,  and  began  giving  out  a  hymn ;  a  woman  and  two 
little  children  joined  us  immediately.  Before  the  hymn 
was  ended,  we  had  a  tolerable  congregation,  all  of  whom  be- 
haved well :  part  indeed  continued  at  forty  or  fifty  yards' 
distance,  but  they  were  all  quiet  and  attentive. 

"  It  happened,  to  speak  in  the  vulgar  phrase,  that  three  or 
four  who  sailed  with  us  from  England,  a  gentleman,  with 
his  wife  and  sister,  were  near  relations  of  the  governor.  He 
came  to  us  this  morning  ;  and  when  I  went  into  the  room 
behaved  with  the  utmost  courtesy.  This  little  circumstance 
may  remove  prejudice,  and  make  a  more  open  way  for  the 
gospel. 

"  Soon  after  we  set  sail ;  and  after  a  very  pleasant  pas- 
sage, through  little  islands  on  either  hand,  we  came  to  the 
venerable  castle,  standing  on  a  rockj  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  from  Guernsey.  The  isle  itself  makes  a  beautiful  ap- 
pearance, spreading  as  a  crescent  to  the  right  and  left ;  about 
seven  miles  long  and  five  broad,  part  high  land  and  part  low. 
The  town  itself  is  boldly  situated,  rising  higher  and  higher 
from  the  water.  The  first  thing  I  observed  in  it  was  very 
narrow  streets,  and  exceedingly  high  houses.  But  we  quick- 
ly went  on  to  Mr.  De  Jersey's,  hardly  a  mile  from  the  town. 
Here  I  found  a  most  cordial  welcome,  both  from  the  master 
of  the  house  and  all  his  family.  I  preached  at  seven,  in  a 
large  room,  to  as  deeply  serious  a  congregation  as  I  ever  saw, 
on  '•  Jesus  Christ,  of  God  made  unto  us  wisdom,  righteous- 
ness, sanctification,  and  redemption.' 

"Monday  20.  We  took  ship  between  three  and  four  in 
the  morning,  in  a  very  small  inconvenient  sloop,  and  not  a 
swift  sailer,  so  tliat  we  were  seven  hours  in  sailing  what  is 
called  seven  leagues.  About  eleven  we  landed  at  St.  He- 
ller's, and  went  straight  to  Mr.  Brackcnbury's  house.  It 
stands  very  pleasantly  near  the  end  of  the  town,  and  has  a 
large,  convenient  garden,  with  a  lovely  range  of  fruitful  hills, 
which  rise  at  a  small  distance  from  it.  I  preached  in  the 
evening  to  an  exceedingly  serious  congregation,  on  Matt, 
iii.  ult.  And  almost  as  many  were  present  at  five  in  the 
morning,  whom  I  exhorted  to  go  on  to  perfection,  which 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


265 


many  of  them,  Mr.  Clarke  informs  me,  are  earnestly  en- 
deavouring to  do. 

"  Thursday  23.  I  rode  to  St.  Mary's,  five  or  six  miles 
from  St.  Helier's,  through  shady,  pleasant  lanes.  None  at 
the  house  could  speak  English,  but  I  had  interpreters  enow. 
In  the  evening  our  large  room  was  thoroughly  filled.  I 
preached  on,  '  By  grace  ye  are  saved,  through  faith :'  Mr. 
Brackenbury  interpreted  sentence  by  sentence,  and  God 
owned  his  word,  though  delivered  in  so  awkward  a  manner : 
bm  especially  in  prayer;  I  prayed  in  English,  and  Mr.  B.  in 
French. 

"  Saturday  25.  Having  now  leisure,  I  finished  a  sermon 
on  '  discerning  the  signs  of  the  times.'  This  morning  I  had 
a  particular  conversation  (as  I  had  once  or  twice  before) 
with  Jeannie  Bisson  of  this  town,  such  a  young  woman  as  I 
have  hardly  seen  elsL-where.  She  seems  to  be  wholly  de- 
voted to  God,  and  to  have  constant  communication  with 
him.  She  has  a  clear  and  strong  understanding,  and  I  can- 
not perceive  the  least  tincture  of  entliusiasm.  I  am  afraid 
she  will  not  live  long.  I  am  amazed  at  the  grace  of  God 
which  is  in  her.  I  think  she  is  far  beyond  Madam  Guion 
in  deep  communion  with  God  :  and  I  doubt  whether  I  have 
found  her  fellow  in  England.  Precious  as  my  time  is,  it 
would  have  been  worth  my  while  to  come  to  Jersey,  h;,d  it 
been  only  to  see  this  prodigy  of  grace. 

"  Monday  27.  I  thought  when  I  left  Southampton  to 
have  hesn  there  again  as  this  day  ;  but  God's  thoughts  were 
not  as  my  thoughts.  Here  we  are,  shut  up  in  Jersey,  for 
how  long  we  cannot  tell.  But  it  is  all  well ;  for  thou,  Lord, 
hast  done  it.  It  is  my  part  to  improve  the  time,  as  it  is  not 
likely  I  should  ever  have  another  opportunity  of  visiting 
these  islands. 

"  Tuesday  28.  Being  still  detained  by  contrary  winds,  I 
preached  at  six  in  the  evening  to  a  larger  congregation  than 
ever,  in  the  assembly-room.  It  conveniently  contains  five 
or  six  hundred  people. 

"  Wednesday  29.  I  designed  to  have  followed  the  blow 
in  the  morning  ;  but  I  had  quite  lost  my  voice :  however,  it 
■was  restored  in  the  evening,  and  I  believe  all  in  the  assem- 
bly-room (more  than  the  last  evening)  heard  distinctly, 
•while  I  explained  and  applied,  '  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and 


266 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


greai,  stand  before  God.'  In  the  morning,  Thursday  30, 1 
took  a  solemn  leave  of  the  society.  We  set  out  about  nine, 
and  reached  St.  Peter's  in  the  afternoon.  Good  is  the  will  of 
the  Lord.  I  trust  he  has  something  more  for  us  to  do  here 
also.  After  preaching  to  a  larger  congregation  than  was 
expected,  on  so  short  a  notice,  on,  '  God  was  in  Christ,  re- 
conciling the  world  unto  himself,'  I  returned  to  Mont-Plai- 
sir,  to  stay  just  as  long  as  it  should  please  God.  I  preached 
there  in  the  morning,  Friday  31,  to  a  congregation  as  serious 
as  death. 

"  Saturday,  September  1.  This  day  twelvemonth  I  was 
detained  in  Holland  by  contrary  winds.  All  is  well,  so  we 
are  doing  and  suffering  the  will  of  our  Lord.  In  the  even- 
ing, the  storm  driving  us  into  the  house  again,  I  strongly 
exhorted  a  very  genteel  audience,  (such  as  I  have  rarely 
seen  in  England,)  to  '  ask  for  the  old  paths,  and  walk  therein.' 

"  Sunday  2.  Being  still  pent  up  by  the  north-east  wind, 
Dr.  Coke  preached  at  six  in  the  morning  to  a  deeply  affected 
congregation.  I  preached  at  eight,  on  Rom.  viii.  33.  At 
one,  Mr.  Vivian,  a  local  preacher,  preached  in  French,  the 
language  of  the  island.  At  five,  as  the  house  would  not 
contain  half  the  congregation,  I  preached  in  a  tolerably 
sheltered  place,  on  the  'joy  there  is  in  heaven  over  one  sin- 
ner that  repenteth  and  both  high  and  low  seemed  to  hear 
it  gladly.  I  then  designed  to  meet  the  society,  but  could 
not.  The  people  pressed  so  eagerly  on  every  side  that  the 
house  was  filled  presently ;  so  that  I  could  only  give  a  ge- 
neral exhortation,  'to  walk  worthy  of  their  profession.' 

"  I  was  in  hopes  of  sailing  in  the  morning,  Monday  3,  but 
the  storm  so  increased  that  it  was  judged  impracticable. — 
The  congregation,  however,  in  the  evening  increased  every 
day  ;  and  they  appeared  to  be  more  and  more  affected  ;  so 
that  I  believe  we  were  not  detained  for  nothing:  but  for  the 
spiritnal  and  eternal  good  of  many. 

"  Tuesday  4.  The  storm  continued,  so  that  we  could  not 
stir.  I  took  a  walk  to-day,  through,  what  is  called,  the  new 
ground,  where  the  gentry  arc  accustomed  to  walk  in  the 
evening:  both  the  upper  ground,  which  is  as  level  as  a  bow- 
ling-green, and  the  lower,  which  is  planted  with  rows  of 
trees,  is  wonderfully  beautiful.  In  the  evening  I  fully  de- 
livered my  own  soul  by  showing  what  it  is  to  'build  upon 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


267 


a  rock.'  But  still  we  could  not  sail,  the  wind  being  quite 
contrary  as  well  as  exceedinglj^  liigh.  It  was  the  same  on 
Wednesday.  In  the  afternoon  we  drank  tea  at  a  friend's, 
who  was  mentioning  a  captain  just  come  from  France,  that 
proposed  to  sail  in  the  morning  for  Penzance,  for  which  the 
wind  would  serve,  though  not  for  Southampton.  In  this 
we  plainly  saw  the  hand  of  God :  so  we  agreed  with  him 
immediately. 

"  Penzance,  Saturday  8.  Dr.  Coke  preached  at  six  to  as 
many  as  the  preaching  house  would  contain.  At  ten  I  was 
obliged  to  take  the  field,  by  the  multitiide  of  people  that 
flocked  together.  I  found  a  very  uncommon  liberty  of 
speech  among  them,  and  cannot  doubt  but  the  work  of  God 
will  flourish  in  this  place.  In  the  evening  I  preached  at  St. 
Ives,  (but  it  being  the  market  day,  so  that  I  could  not  stand, 
as  usual,  in  the  market  place,)  in  a  very  convenient  field  at 
the  end  of  the  town,  to  a  very  numerous  congregation,  I 
need  scarcely  add,  and  very  serious ;  for  such  are  all  the 
congregations  in  the  county  of  Cornwall. 

"  Sunday  9.  About  nine  I  preached  at  the  copper  works, 
three  or  four  miles  from  St.  Ives,  to  a  large  congregation, 
gathered  from  all  parts,  I  believe  '  with  the  demonstration 
of  the  Spirit.'  I  then  met  the  society  in  the  preaching- 
house,  which  is  unlike  any  other  in  England,  both  as  to  its 
form  and  materials.  It  is  exactly  round,  and  composed 
wholly  of  brazen  slags,  which  I  suppose  will  last  as  long  as 
the  earth.  Between  one  and  two  I  begun  in  the  market 
place  at  Redruth  to  the  largest  congregation  I  ever  saw  there. 
They  not  only  filled  all  the  windows,  but  sat  on  the  tops  of 
the  houses.  About  five  I  began  in  the  amphitheatre  at 
Gwenap :  I  suppose  we  had  a  thousand  more  than  ever  were 
there  before :  but  it  was  all  one  ;  my  voice  was  strengthen- 
ed accordingly,  so  that  every  one  could  hear  distinctly. 

"London,  Sunday,  Nov.  4.  The  congregation  at  the  new 
chapel  was  far  larger  than  usual ;  and  the  number  of  com- 
municants was  so  great,  that  I  was  obliged  to  consecrate 
thrice.  Monday  5.  In  my  way  to  Dorking,  I  read  Mr.  DuflPs 
Essay  on  Genius.  It  is  beyond  all  comparison  deeper  and 
more  judicious  than  Dr.  G.'s  essay  on  that  subject.  If  the 
doctor  had  seen  it,  which  one  can  hardly  doubt,  it  is  a  won- 
der he  would  publish  his  essay:  yet  I  cannot  approve  of  his 


268 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


method.  Why  does  he  not  first  define  his  term,  that  we 
may  know  what  he  is  talking  about  ?  I  doubt,  because  his 
own  idea  of  it  was  not  clear.  For  genius  is  not  imagination, 
any  more  than  it  is  invention.  If  we  mean  by  it  a  quality 
of  the  soul,  it  is,  in  its  widest  acceptation,  an  extraordinary 
capacity  either  for  some  particular  art  or  science,  or  for  all, 
for  whatever  may  be  undertaken.  So  Euclid  had  a  genius 
for  mathematics,  TuUy  for  oratory:  Aristotle  and  Lord  Ba- 
con had  a  universal  genius  applicable  to  every  thing. 

"  Friday  9.  A  friend  offering  to  bear  my  expenses,  I  set 
out  in  the  evening,  and  on  Saturday  10,  dined  at  Nottingham. 
The  preachinj  house,  one  of  the  most  elegant  in  England, 
was  pretty  well  filled  in  the  evening. 

"Sunday  11.  At  ten,  we  had  a  lovely  congregation;  and 
a  very  numerous  one  in  the  afternoon:  but  I  believe  the 
house  would  hardly  contain  one  half  of  those  that  came  to 
it.  I  preached  a  charity  sermon  for  the  infirmary,  which 
was  the  design  of  my  coming.  This  is  not  a  county  infir- 
mary, but  is  open  to  all  England,  yea,  to  all  the  world.  And 
every  thing  about  it  is  so  neat,  so  convenient,  and  so  well 
ordered,  that  I  have  seen  none  like  it  in  the  three  kingdoms. 
Monday  12.  In  the  afternoon  we  took  coach  again,  and  on 
Tuesday  returned  to  London. 

"Sunday  25.  I  preached  two  charity  sermons,  at  West- 
street,  in  behalf  of  our  poor  children ;  in  which  I  endeavour- 
ed to  warn  them,  and  all  that  have  the  care  of  them,  against 
that  English  sin,  ungodliness,  that  reproach  of  our  nation, 
wherein  we  excel  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth. 

"  Tuesday,  Dec.  4.  I  retired  to  Rainham,  to  prepare  ano- 
ther edition  of  the  New  Testament  for  the  press. 

"liondon,  Sunday  9.  I  went  down  at  half  an  hour  past 
five,  but  found  no  preacher  in  the  chapel,  though  Ave  had 
three  or  four  in  the  house:  so  I  preached  myself.  After- 
wards inquiring  why  none  of  my  family  attended  the  morn- 
ing preaching,  tliey  said  it  was  because  they  sat  up  too  late. 
I  resolved  to  put  a  stop  to  this :  and,  therefore,  ordered,  that, 

1.  Every  one  under  my  roof  should  go  to  bed  at  nine :  that, 

2.  Every  one  might  attend  the  morning  preaching :  and  so 
they  have  done  ever  since. 

"  Monday  10.  I  was  desired  to  see  the  celebrated  wax- 
work at  the  Museum  in  Spring  Gardens.   It  exhibits  most 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


269 


of  the  crowned  heads  in  Europe,  and  shows  their  characters 
in  their  countenances.  Sense  and  majesty  appear  in  the 
king  of  Spain:  duhiessand  sottishnessin  the  king  of  France: 
infernal  subtilty  in  the  late  king  of  Prussia:  (as  well  as  in 
the  skeleton  Voltaire:)  calmness  and  humanity  in  the  em- 
peror, and  king  of  Portugal :  exquisite  stupidity  in  the 
prince  of  Orange :  and  amazing  coarseness,  with  every  thing 
that  is  unamiable,  in  the  Czarina. 

"Sunday  16.  After  preaching  at  Spitalfields,  I  hastened 
to  St.  John's,  Clerkenwell,  and  preached  a  charity  sermon 
for  the  Finsbury  dispensary,  as  I  Avould  gladly  countenance 
every  institution  of  this  kind. 

"  Saturday  22.  I  yielded  to  the  importunity  of  a  painter, 
and  sat,  an  hour  and  a  half  in  all,  for  my  picture.  I  think  it 
is  the  best  that  ever  was  taken.  But  what  is  the  picture  of 
a  man  above  fourscore !" 

Tiiese  extracts  are  from  the  Journal  of  1787,  when  Mr. 
Wesley  was  in  his  eighty-fifth  year.  The  labours  and 
joiirneys  of  almost  every  day  are  similarly  noticed,  exhibit- 
ing at  once  a  singular  instance  of  natural  strength,  sustained, 
doubtless,  by  the  special  blessing  of  God,  and  of  an  entire 
consecration  of  time  to  the  service  of  mankind,  of  which  no 
similar  example  is  probably  on  record,  and  which  is  render- 
ed still  more  wonderful  by  tlie  consideration  that  it  had  been 
continued  for  more  than  half  a  century,  on  the  same  scale  of 
exertion,  and  almost  without  intermission.  The  vigour  of 
his  mind  at  this  age  is  also  as  remarkable;  the  same  power 
of  acute  observation  as  formerly  is  manifested  ;  the  same 
taste  for  reading  and  criticism ;  the  same  facility  in  literary 
composition.  Nor  is  the  buoj'ant  cheerfulness  of  his  spirit 
a  less  striking  feature.  Nothing  of  the  old  man  of  unrenew- 
ed nature  appears;  no  forebodings  of  evil;  no  querulous 
comparisons  of  the  present  with  the  past; — there  is  the 
«ame  delight  in  the  beautiful  scenes  of  nature;  the  same  en- 
joyment of  conversation,  provided  it  had  the  two  qualities 
of  usefulness  and  brevity;  the  same  joy  in  hopeful  appear- 
ances of  good ;  and  the  same  tact  at  turning  the  edge  of  little 
discomfits  and  disappointments  by  the  power  of  an  undis- 
turbed equanimity.  Above  all  we  see  the  man  of  one  busi- 
ness, living  only  to  serve  God  and  his  generation,  "  instant 
iii  season  and  out  of  season,"  seriously  intent,  not  upon 
23* 


270 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


doing  so  much  duty,  but  upon  saving  souls  ;  and  preaching, 
conversing,  and  writing  for  this  end  alone.  And  yet  this  is 
the  man  whom  we  still  sometimes  see  made  the  object  of 
the  sneers  of  infidel  or  semi-infidel  philosophers  ;  and  whom 
book-makers,  when  they  have  turned  the  interesting  points 
of  his  character  and  history  into  a  marketable  commodity, 
endeavour  to  dress  up  in  the  garb  of  a  fanatic,  or  a  dreamer, 
by  Avay  of  rendering  their  works  more  acceptable  to  frivo- 
lous readers, — the  man  to  whose  labours,  few  even  of  the 
evangelical  clergy  of  the  national  church  have  the  heart  or 
the  courage  to  do  justice ;  forgetting  how  much  that  im- 
proved state  of  piety  which  exists  in  the  establishment  is 
owing  to  the  indirect  influence  of  his  long  life  of  labour,  and 
his  successful  ministry  ;  and  that  even  very  many  of  tliem 
selves  have  sprung  from  families  where  Methodism  first 
lighted  the  lamp  of  religious  knowledge,  and  produced  a  re- 
ligious influence.  It  will  indeed  provoke  a  smile,  to  observe 
what  effort  often  discovers  itself  in  writers  of  this  party, 
wlien  referring  to  the  religious  state  of  the  nation  in  the  last 
and  present  century,  to  keep  this  apostolic  man  wholly  out 
of  sight,  as  though  lie  had  never  existed ;  feeling,  we  sup- 
pose, that  because  he  did  not  conform  to  the  order  of  their 
church  in  all  particulars,  it  would  be  a  sin  against  their  own 
orthodoxy  even  to  name  him  us  one  of  those  great  instru- 
ments in  the  hands  of  God,  who,  in  mercy  to  these  lands, 
were  raised  up  to  effect  that  vast  moral  and  religfous  change, 
the  benefits  of  which  they  themselves  so  richly  enjoy.  This 
may  be  attributed  not  only  to  that  exclusive  spirit  which 
marks  so  many  of  the  clergy  of  this  class,  even  beyond 
others,  notwithstanding  their  piety  and  general  excellence, 
but  to  the  Calvinism  which  many  of  them  have  imbibed. 
Tlie  evangelical  Arminianism  of  Wesley  has  been  forgiven 
by  the  orthodox  dissenters  ;  but,  by  a  curious  anomaly,  not 
by  the  Calvinistic  party  of  the  church.  It  is  probably  bet- 
ter understood  by  the  former.* 

*  The  following  passage  from  a  sermon  lately  preached  in  his  dio- 
cese, by  Bishop  Coplestone,  may  be  quoted  both  as  a  better  specimen 
of  the  spirit  of  a  churcliman  than  that  above  referred  to,  and  as,  j>er- 
haps,  the  only  instance  in  which  any  thing  approaching  to  a  due  esti- 
mate of  Mr.  Wesley's  character,  and  the  value  of  his  labours,  has 
been  suffered  publicly  to  escape  the  lips  of  a  pielate.    It  was  dictated 


l.IFE  OF  WESLEY. 


271 


At  the  time  to  which  tlie  above  extracts  from  his  Journal 
refer,  Mr.  Wesle}'  liail,  liowever,  no  reason  to  complain  of 
any  want  of  respect,  or  of  a  due  appreciation  of  his  labours 

evidently  by  a  candid  and  liberal  feeli.ig,  though  not  without  being 
influenced  by  syme  of  those  mistaken  views  which  will  be  corrected 
at  ths  close  of  this  account  of  jNIr.  "Wesley's  life : — 

"  And  here,  not  only  candour  and  equity,  but  a  just  sense  of  the 
constitution  of  Christ's  churcli,  compels  me  to  draw  a  marlced  line  of 
distinction  between  those  whose  religious  asscmbhcs  are  supplemen- 
tary, as  it  were,  to  our  own  establishment,  offering  spiritual  comfort 
And  instruction  to  hundreds  unal)lc  to  lind  it  elsewhere,  and  those  or- 
ganized communities  which  exclude  from  their  society  any  that  com- 
municate in  the  blessed  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper  with  the  na- 
tional church. 

"  Of  the  former,  I  would  not  only  think  and  speak  mildly,  but  in 
many  cases  I  would  conimcnd  the  piety  and  zeal  which  animates 
them,  full  of  danger  as  it  is  to  depart  from  the  apostolic  ordinance, 
even  in  matters  of  ouUvard  discipline  and  order.  The  author  and 
founder  of  those  societies  (for  he  was  careful  himself  to  keep  them 
from  being  formed  into  a  sect)  was  a  reguHrly  ordained  minister,  a 
man  orthodox  in  his  belief,  simple  and  disinterested  in  his  own  views, 
and  adorned  with  the  most  amiable  and  distinguished  virtues  of  a  true 
Christian.  He  found  thousands  of  his  countrymen,  though  nominal- 
ly Christians,  yet  as  ignorant  of  true  Christianity  as  infidels  and 
heathens ;  and  in  too  many  instances  (it  is  useless  to  conceal  or  dis-^ 
guise  the  fact)  ignorant,  either  through  the  inattention  of  the  govern- 
ment in  not  pro\iding  for  increased  numbers,  or  through  the  careless- 
ness and  neglect  of  lliose  whom  the  national  church  had  appointed  to 
be  their  pastors. 

"  But  the  begin)iing  of  schism,  like  that  of  strife,  is  as  when  one 
letteth  out  water.  The  gentle  stream  of  piety  and  benevolence  in 
which  this  practice  origuiated,  irrigating  only  and  refreshing  some 
parched  or  barren  lands,  soon  became  a  swelling  and  rapid  torrent, 
winding  as  it  flowed  on,  and  opening  for  itself  a  breach  which  it  may 
yet  require  the  care  and  prudence  of  ages  to  close.  And  even  the 
pious  author  himself  was  not  proof  against  that  snare  of  Satan  which, 
through  the  vanity  and  weakness  of  human  nature,  led  him  in  his 
latter  years  to  assume  the  authority  of  an  apostle,  and  to  establish  a 
fraternity  within  the  church,  to  be  called  after  ids  own  name,  and 
to  remain  a  la.sting  monument  of  his  activity  and  zeal.  But  over  er- 
rors such  as  these  let  us  cast  a  veil ;  and  rather  rejoice  in  reflecting 
on  the  many  whom  he  reclaimed  from  sin  and  wickedness,  and  taught 
to  seek  for  salvation  through  the  merits  of  their  Saviour. 

"  Of  such,  I  repeat,  wherever  a  like  deficiency  of  religious  means 
is  found,  we  ought  to  speak  not  only  with  tenderness,  but  with  bro- 
therly  love  and  esteem." 

It  seems  pretty  obvious  that  Bishop  Coplestone  has  taken  his  im- 
pressions from  Southey's  life  of  the  founder  of  Methodisuij  although 


272 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


by  the  serious  of  all  parties,  although  he  regarded  it  not  with 
improper  exultation,  but  passed  through  "  honour,"  as  he 

somewhat  modified  by  better  views  of  spiritual  religion.  The  moral 
destitution  of  the  country,  and  the  negligence  of  the  churcli,  are  ac- 
knowledged, as  well  as  the  important  ellects  jjroduced  by  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's labours,  at  least  in  their  eaily  stages  ;  and  yet  these  results  are 
spoken  of  as  somewhat  of  a  religious  calamity  !  Tlie  beginning  of 
"  schism,"  as  to  church  order,  is  compared  to  the  letting  out  of  water  ; 
and  a  fearful  "  breach"  o>it  of  tlie  established  church  completes  the 
picture.  How  httle  docs  this  sensible  and  amiable  bishop  know  of  the 
facts  of  the  case ! — as,  tor  instance,  1.  That  the  Methodist  societies 
were  in  great  part  gathered  not  out  of  chuicli-goers  but  church- 
neglecters.  2.  That  the  effect  was  generally,  {or  many  years,  to  in- 
crease the  attendance  at  church,  and  to  lay  the  foundation  in  a  great 
number  of  places,  especially  in  the  more  populous  towns,  of  large 
church  congregations  which  have  continued  to  this  day.  3.  That  the 
still  more  extensive  and  ultimate  result  was,  atler  persecution  or  si- 
lent contempt  had  been  tried  in  vain,  and  when  it  was  found  that  ob- 
stinate perseverance  in  neglect  woiild  not  be  any  longer  tolerated,  that 
the  establishment  was  roused  into  an  activity  by  which  it  has  doubtless 
been  greatly  benefited  as  far  as  respects  its  moral  influence,  the  only 
influence  of  a  church  which  can  be  permanent  or  valuable,  4,  That 
very  few  of  the  Methodists  of  the  present  day  would  in  all  probability 
.have  been,  in  any  .sense  which  Bishop  Coplcsfone  would  value,  church- 
people  ;  and  so  this  supposed  loss  of  ecclesiastical  members  affords  but 
an  imaginary  ground  for  the  regrets  with  which  he  seems  to  surround 
it.  The  intimation  of  Mr.  Wesley's  ambition  is  imitated  from  Sou- 
they.  But  of  this  enough  has  been  said  in  refutation.  Bishop  Cople- 
stone,  indeed,  regards  it  mildly  as  an  infirmity,  which  he  would  chari- 
tably cover  with  Mr.  Wesley's  numerous  and  eminent  virtues.  That  is 
kind  ;  but  Mr.  Wesley  himself  would  have  taken  a  severer  view  of  this 
"weakness,"  had  he  been  conscious  of  the  passion  of  ambition,  in  the 
sense  in  which  it  is  here  used.  One  might  ask  this  respectable  prelate 
to  review  the  case,  and  say  where  Mr.  Wesley,  allowing  him  his  con- 
scientious conviction  that  he  was  bound  to  incessant  activity  in 
doing  good  to  the  souls  of  men,  could  have  stopped  1  how  he  could 
have  disposed  of  his  societies,  in  the  then  existing  state  of  the  church'! 
And  whether,  if  he  had  this  "  ambition"  to  be  the  head  of  a  sect,  his 
whole  life  did  not  lay  restraints  upon  it,  since,  from  nearly  the  very 
first  outset  of  liis  itinerancy  and  success,  it  has  been  shown  in  this 
work  by  extracts  from  the  minutes  of  his  first  conferences,  that  he 
took  views  of  ecclesiastical  polity  which  then  set  him  quite  at  liberty, 
had  he  chosen  it,  to  form  his  societies  into  a  regular  church,  to  put 
himself  at  their  head,  and  to  kindle  up  a  spirit  of  hostihty  to  the  eslah- 
lishment,  and  of  warm  partizanship  in  his  own  favour,  throughout  the 
landl  A  vicious  ambition  would  have  preferred  this  course.  But  it 
is  not  necessary  to  anticipate  the  remarks  which  will  follow  on  these 
subjects. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


273 


had  passed  through  "  dishonour"  in  tlie  former  years  of  his 
life,  as  "  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible."  This  period  of  his 
life  must  have  been  to  liini.  on  a  much  higher  account,  one 
of  rich  reflection.  In  liis  Journal  of  1785,  March  24,  he  ob- 
serves,— "I  was  now  considering  how  strangely  the  grain  of 
mustard  seed,  planted  about  fifty  years  ago,  had  grown  up. 
It  has  spread  through  all  Great  Britain,  and  Ireland,  the  Isle 
of  Wight,  and  the  Isle  of  Man  ;  then  to  America,  through 
the  whole  continent,  into  Canada,  the  Leeward  Islands,  and 
Newfoundland.  And  the  societies,  in  all  these  parts,  walk 
by  one  rule,  knowing  that  religion  is  in  holy  tempers,  and 
striving  to  worship  God,  not  iii  form  only,  but  likewise  in 
spirit  and  in  truth." 

He  must,  indeed,  have  been  insensible  to  the  emotions  of 
a  generous  nature,  had  he  not  felt  an  honest  satisfaction,  that 
he  had  lived  down  calumnies ;  and  that  where  mobs  former- 
ly awaited  him,  he  met  with  the  kind  and  cheering  atten- 
tions of  the  most  respectable  persons  of  all  religious  persua- 
sions, in  every  part  of  the  countrj^  But,  more  than  this,  he 
could  compare  the  dearth  and  barrenness  of  one  age  with 
the  living  verdure  and  fertility  of  another.  Long-forgotten 
truths  had  been  made  familiar ; — a  neglected  population 
had  been  brought  within  the  range  of  Christian  instruction, 
and  the  constant  preaching  of  the  word  of  life  by  faithful 
men  ; — religious  societies  had  been  raised  up  through  the 
land,  generally  distinguished  by  piety  and  zeal ; — by  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  the  labours  of  Mr.  Wliitefield,  and 
others  of  his  first  associates,  the  old  dissenting  churches  had 
been  quickened  into  life,  and  new  ones  multiplied ;  the  es- 
tablished church  had  been  awakened  from  her  lethargy; 
the  number  of  faithful  ministers  in  her  parishes  greatly 
multiplied  ;  the  influence  of  religion  spread  into  the  colo- 
nies, and  the  Lfnited  States  of  America  ;  and  above  all,  a 
vast  multitude,  the  fruit  of  his  own  ministerial  zeal  and 
faithfulness,  had,  since  the  time  in  which  he  commenced  his 
labours,  departed  into  a  better  world.  These  thoughts  must 
often  have  passed  through  his  mind,  and  inspired  his  heart 
with  devout  thanksgivings  although  no  allusion  is  ever 
made  to  them  in  a  boastful  manner.  For  the  past,  he  knew  to 
whom  the  praise  belonged ;  and  the  future  he  left  to  God,  cer- 
tainat  least  of  meeting  in  heaven  a  greater  number  of  glorified 


274 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


spirits  of  whose  salvation  he  had  been,  under  God,  the  in- 
strument, tlian  any  minister  of  modern  ages.  That  "  joyful 
hope"  may  explain  an  incident,  which  occurred  towards  the 
close  of  life,  at  the  City-road  chapel,  London.  After  pray- 
ers had  been  read  one  Sunday  forenoon,  he  ascended  the 
pulpit;  where,  instead  of  announcing  the  hymn  immediate- 
ly, he,  to  the  great  surprise  of  the  congregation,  stood  silent, 
with  his  eyes  closed,  for  the  space  of  at  least  ten  minutes, 
rapt  in  thought ;  and  then,  with  a  feeling  which  at  once  con- 
veyed to  all  present  the  subject  which  had  so  absorbed  his 
attention,  gave  out  the  hymn  commencing  with  the  lines : — 
"  Come,  let  us  join  our  friends  above, 
Who  liave  obtained  the  prize,  "  &c. 

It  was  also  his  constant  practice  to  preach  on  All  Saints'  Day, 
which  was  with  him  a  favourite  festival,  on  communion 
with  the  saints  in  heaven  ;  a  practice  probably  arising  out 
of  the  same  delightful  association  of  remembrances  and 
hope. 

On  his  attaining  his  eighty-fifth  year,  he  makes  the  follow- 
ing reflections : — 

"  I  this  day  enter  on  my  eighty-fifth  year.  And  what 
cause  have  I  to  praise  God,  as  for  a  thousand  spiritual  bless- 
ings, so  for  bodily  blessings  also !  How  Uttle  have  I  suffer- 
ed yet,  by  '  the  rush  of  numerous  years !'  It  is  true,  I  am 
not  so  agile  as  I  was  in  times  past :  I  do  not  run  or  walk  so 
fast  as  I  did.  My  sight  is  a  little  decayed.  My  left  eye  is 
grown  dim,  and  hardly  serves  me  to  read.  I  have  daily 
some  pain  in  the  ball  of  my  right  eye,  as  also  in  my  right 
temple,  (occasioned  by  a  blow  received  some  time  since,) 
and  in  my  right  shoulder  and  arm,  which  I  impute  partly  to 
a  sprain,  and  partly  to  the  rheumatism.  I  find  likewise  some 
decay  in  my  memory,  with  regard  to  names  and  things  late- 
ly past :  but  not  at  all  with  regard  to  what  I  have  read  or 
heard,  twenty,  forty,  or  sixty  years  ago.  Neither  do  I  find 
any  decay  in  my  hearing,  smell,  taste,  or  appetite,  (though  I 
want  but  a  third  part  of  the  food  I  once  did,)  nor  do  I  feel 
any  such  thing  as  weariness,  either  in  travelling  or  preach- 
ing, and  lam  not  conscious  of  any  decay  in  writing  sermons, 
which  I  do  as  readily,  and  I  believe  as  correctly,  as  ever. 

"  To  what  cause  can  I  impute  this,  that  I  am  as  I  am  ? 
First,  doubtless,  to  the  power  of  God,  fitting  me  for  the 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


275 


work  to  which  I  am  called,  as  long  as  he  pleases  to  continue 
me  therein:  and  next,  subordinately  to  this,  to  the  prayers 
of  his  children.— May  we  not  impute  it,  as  inferior  means : 
1.  To  my  consiant  exercise  and  change  of  air  ?  2.  To  my 
never  having  lost  a  night's  sleep,  sick,  or  well,  at  land  or  sea, 
since  I  was  born  ?  3.  To  my  having  sleep  at  command,  so 
that  whenever  I  feel  myself  almost  worn  out,  I  call  it,  and  it 
comes,  day  or  night?  4.  To  my  having  constantly,  for 
above  sixty  years,  risen  at  four  in  the  morning  ?  5.  To  my 
constant  preaching  at  five  in  the  morning,  for  above  fifty 
years  ?  6.  To  my  having  had  so  little  pain  in  my  life,  and 
so  little  sorrow  or  anxious  care  ? — Even  now,  though  I  find 
pain  daily  in  my  eye,  temple,  or  arm,  yet  it  is  never  violent, 
and  seldom  lasts  many  minutes  at  a  time. 

"  Whether  or  not  this  is  sent  to  give  me  warning  that  I  am 
shortly  to  quit  this  tabernacle,  I  do  not  know  :  but,  be  it  one 
way  or  the  other,  I  have  only  to  saj^, — 
'iMy  remnant  of  days 

I  spend  to  His  praise, 
Who  died  the  whole  world  to  redeem : 

Be  tliey  many  or  few, 

My  days  are  his  due, 
And  they  all  are  devoted  to  Him  !"' 
And,  refen-ing  to  some  persons  in  the  nation  who  thought 
themselves  endowed  with  the  gift  of  prophecy,  he  adds,  "  If 
this  is  to  be  the  last  year  of  my  life,  according  to  some  of 
these  prophets,  I  hope  it  will  be  the  best.  I  am  not  careful 
about  it,  but  heartily  receive  the  advice  of  the  angel  in 
Milton,— 

'  How  well,  is  thine  ;  how  long,  permit  to  heaven.' 


CHAPTER  XrV. 

The  brothers,  whose  affection  no  diflfercnces  of  opinion, 
and  no  conflicts  of  party,  could  diminish,  were  now  to  be 
separated  by  death.  Of  the  last  days  of  Mr.  Charles  Wes- 
ley, Dr.  Whitehead  gives  the  following  account : — 

"  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  had  a  weak  body,  and  a  poor  state 
of  health,  during  the  greatest  part  of  his  life.  I  believe  he 
laid  the  foundation  of  both  at  Oxford  by  too  close  applica- 
tion to  study  and  abstinence  from  food.    He  rode  much  on 


276 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


horseback,  which  probably  contributed  to  lengthen  out  life 
to  a  good  old  age.  I  visited  him  several  limes  in  his 
last  sickness;  and  his  body  was  indeed  reduced  to  the 
most  extreme  state  of  weakness.  He  possessed  that  state  of 
mind  which  he  had  been  always  pleased  to  see  in.others, — 
unaffected  humility,  and  holy  resignation  to  the  will  of  God. 
He  had  no  transports  of  joy,  but  solid  hope  and  unshaken 
confidence  in  Christ,  which  kept  his  mind  in  perfect  peace. 
A  few  days  before  his  death  he  composed  the  following  lines. 
Having  been  silent  and  quiet  for  some  time,  he  called  Mrs. 
Wesley  to  him,  and  bid  her  write  as  he  dictated. 

'  In  age  and  feebleness  extreme, 
Who  shall  a  sinful  worm  redeem  1 
Jesus,  my  only  hope  thou  art. 
Strength  of  my  failing  flesh  and  heart ; 
O  could  1  catch  a  smile  from  thee, 
And  drop  into  eternity  !' 

"He  died,  March  29th,  1788,  aged  seventy-nine  years  and 
three  months;  and  was  buried,  April  5th,  in  Marybone 
church-yard  at  his  own  desire.  The  pall  was  supported  by 
eight  clergymen  of  the  church  of  England.  On  his  tomb- 
stone are  the  following  lines,  written  by  himself  on  the  death 
of  one  of  his  friends:  they  could  not  be  more  aptly  applied 
to  any  person  than  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley : — 

'  With  poverty  of  spirit  bless'd, 
Rest,  happy  saint,  in  Jesus  rest ; 
A  sinner  sav'd,  through  grace  forgiven, 
Redeem'd  from  eartli  to  reign  in  heaven  ! 
Thy  labours  of  unvyearied  love. 
By  thee  forgot,  are  crown'd  above  ; 
Crown'd,  through  the  mercy  of  thy  Lord, 
With  a  free,  full,  immense  reward  !' 

"Mr.  Charles  Wesley  was  of  a  warm  and  lively  disposi- 
tion, of  great  frankness  and  integrity,  and  generous  and 
steady  in  his  friendships.  In  conversation  he  was  pleasing, 
instructive,  and  cheerful ;  and  his  observations  were  often 
seasoned  with  wit  and  humour.  His  religion  was  genuine 
and  unaffected.  As  a  minister,  he  was  familiarly  acquainted 
with  every  part  of  divinity;  and  his  mind  was  furnished 
with  an  unconnnon  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures.  His  dis- 
courses from  the  pulpit  were  not  dry  and  systematic,  but 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


277 


flowed  from  the  present  views  and  feelings  of  his  own  mind. 
He  had  a  remarkable  talent  of  expressing  the  most  impor- 
tant truths  with  simplicity  and  energy;  and  his  discourses 
were  sometimes  truly  apostoHc,  forcing  conviction  on  the 
hearers  in  spite  of  the  most  determined  opposition.  As  a 
husband,  a  father,  and  a  friend,  his  character  was  amiable. 
Mrs.  Wesley  brought  him  five  children,  of  whom  two  sons 
and  a  daughter  are  still  Uving.*  The  sons  discovered  so  fine 
a  taste  for  music,  at  an  early  period  of  life,  that  they  excited 
general  astonishment;  and  they  are  now  justly  admired  by 
the  best  judges  for  their  talents  in  that  pleasing  art.  The 
Methodists  are  greatly  indebted  to  Charles  Wesley  for  his 
unwearied  labours  and  great  usefulness  at  the  first  formation 
of  the  societies,  when  every  step  was  attended  with  difficul- 
ty and  danger.  And  being  dead  he  yet  speaketh  by  his  nu- 
merous and  excellent  hymns,  Avritten  for  the  use  of  the 

*  Miss  Wesley,  a  lady  of  eminent  talents,  and  great  excellence, 
died  September  19.  1828. 

It  would  be  improper  to  withhold,  as  I  have  them  before  me,  in  the 
unpublished  letters  with  which  I  have  been  favoured,  some  incidental 
remarks  of  the  late  Miss  Wesley,  on  the  character  of  her  father: — 

"  Mr.  Moore  seems  to  think  that  my  father  preferred  rest  to  going 
about  to  do  good.  He  had  a  rising  family,  and  considered  it  his  duty 
to  confine  his  labours  to  Bristol  and  London,  where  he  laboured  most 
sedulously  in  ministerial  offices;  and  judged  that  it  was  incumbent 
upon  him  to  watch  over  the  youth  of  his  sons,  especially  in  a  profes- 
sion which  nature  so  strongly  pointed  out,  but  which  was  peculiarly 
dangerous.  He  always  said  his  brother  was  formed  to  lead,  and  he 
to  follow.  No  one  ever  more  rejoiced  in  another's  superiority,  or  was 
more  wilhng  to  confess  it.  Mr.  Moore's  statement  of  his  absence  of 
mind  in  his  younger  days,  was  probably  correct,  as  he  was  born  im- 
petuous, and  ardent,  and  sincere.  But  what  a  change  must  have 
taken  place  when  we  were  born!  For  his  exactness  in  his  accounts, 
in  his  manuscripts,  in  his  bureau,  &c.,  equalled  my  uncle's.  Not  in 
his  dress,  indeed ;  for  my  mother  said,  if  she  did  not  watch  over  him, 
he  might  have  put  on  an  old  for  a  new  coat,  and  marched  out.  Such 
was  his  power  of  abstraction,  that  he  could  read  and  compose,  with 
his  children  in  the  room,  and  visitors  talking  around  him.  He  waa 
near  forty  when  he  married,  and  had  eight  children,  of  whom  we 
were  the  youngest.  So  kind  and  amiable  a  character  in  domestic  life 
can  scarcely  be  imagined.  The  tenderness  he  showed  in  every  weak- 
ness, and  the  syinj)athy  in  every  pain,  would  fill  sheets  to  describe. 
But,  I  am  not  writing  his  eulogy  ;  only  I  must  add,  with  so  warm  a 
temper,  he  nevrr  was  heard  to  speak  an  angry  word  to  a  servant,  or 
known  to  .-strike  a  child  in  anger,— and  he  knew  no  guile!" 


278 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


societies,  Avliich  still  continue  to  be  the  means  of  daily  edi- 
fication and  comfort  to  thousands."* 

For  the  spiritual  advantages  which  the  Methodists  have 
derived  from  his  inestimable  hymns,  which  are  in  constant 
use  in  their  congregations,  as  well  as  for  his  early  labours, 
the  memory  of  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  indeed  deserves  to  be 
had  in  their  everlasting  remembrance  ;  and  they  are  not  in- 
sensible of  the  value  of  the  gift.  Their  taste  has  been  formed 
by  this  high  standard  ;  and,  notwithstanding  all  the  charges 
of  illiteracy,  and  want  of  mental  cultivation,  which  have 
been  often  brought  against  them,  we  may  venture  to  say, 
there  are  few  collections  of  psalms  and  hymns  in  use  in 
any  other  congregations,  that  would,  as  a  whole,  be  tolerated 
amongst  Ihem  ; — so  powerful  has  been  the  effect  produced 
by  his  superior  compositions.  The  clear  and  decisive  cha- 
racter of  the  religious  experience  which  they  describe ;  their 
force,  and  life,  and  earnestness;  commended  them,  at  the 
first,  to  the  piety  of  the  societies,  and,  through  that,  insensi- 
bly elevated  the  judgment  of  thousands,  who,  otherwise, 
might  have  relished,  as  strongly  as  others,  the  rudeness  of 
the  old  version  of  the  Psalms,  the  tameness  of  the  new,  and 
the  tinsel  metaphors  and  vapid  sentimentalisms  which  dis- 
figure numerous  compositions  of  different  authors,  in  most 
collections  of  hymns  in  use.  It  would  seem,  indeed,  from 
the  very  small  number  of  really  good  psalms  and  hj^mns, 
which  are  adapted  to  public  worship  and  the  use  of  religious 
societies,  that  this  branch  of  sacred  poetry  has  not  been  very 
successfully  cultivated:  and  that  the  combination  of  genius, 
judgment,  and  taste,  requisite  to  produce  them,  is  very  rare- 
ly found.  Germany  is  said  to  be  more  abundant  in  good 
hymns  than  England :  and  some  of  the  most  excellent  of 
the  Wesleyan  hymns  arc  imitations  of  German  hymns  ad- 
mirably versified.  But  in  our  language  the  number  is  small. 
Hymns,  indeed,  abounding  in  sweet  thoughts,  though  often 
feebly  expressed,  and  such  as  may  be  used  profitably  in  the 
closet  or  the  family  circle,  are  not  so  rare.  But  the  true 
sacred  lyric,  suited  for  public  wor.ship,  and  the  select  assem- 
blies of  the  devout,  is  as  scarce  as  it  is  valuable.  From  the 
rustic  rhyming  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins,  to  the  psalms 


Whitehead's  Life. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


279 


niid  hymns  of  Dr.  Watts,  the  advance  was  indeed  unspeaka- 
bly great.  A  few,  however,  only  of  the  latter,  in  comparison 
of  the  whole  number,  are  unexceptionable  throughout. — 
When  they  are  so,  they  leave  nothing  to  be  desired ;  but 
many  of  Dr.  Watts's  compositions  begin  well,  often  nobly, 
and  then  fall  off  into  dulness  and  puerility  ;  and  not  a  few 
arc  utterly  worthless,  as  being  poor  in  thought,  and  still 
more  so  in  expression.  The  piety  and  sweetness  of  Dod- 
dridge's hymns  must  be  felt ;  but  they  are  often  verbose  and 
languid,  and  withal  faulty  and  affected  in  their  metaphors. 
Tiic  Olney  collection  has  many  delightful  hymns  for  private 
u?e;  but  they  are  far  from  being  generally  fit  for  the  public 
services  of  religion,  and  are  often  in  bad  taste;  not  even 
excepting  many  of  Cowper's.  This  may  be  spoken  without 
irreverence,  for  the  greatest  poets  have  not  proved  the  best 
hymn  makers.  Milton  made  but  one  tolerable  psalm  ;  and 
still  more  modern  poets  of  note  have  seldom  fully  redeemed 
the  credit  of  their  class.  The  fact  seems  to  be,  that  when 
the  mind  is  very  rich  in  sentiment  and  imagery,  those  quali- 
ties are  usually  infused  into  sacred  song  in  too  large  propor- 
tions. Sentiment  and  genuine  religious  feeling  are  things 
quite  distinct,  and  seldom  harmonize ;  at  least,  though  they 
may  sometimes  approach  to  the  verge  of  each  other,  they 
will  not  amalgamate;  and  exuberance  of  metaphor  is  incon- 
sistent with  strong  and  absorbing  devotion,  and  proves  too 
artificial  to  express  the  natural  language  of  the  heart.  The 
talent  of  correct  and  vigorous  versification  is,  for  these  rea- 
sons, more  likely  to  produce  the  true  "spiritual  song"  than 
luxuriance  of  imagination  and  great  creative  genius,  provi- 
ded the  requisite  theological  and  devotional  qualities  be  also 
present.  A  hymn  suitable  for  social  worship  ought  to  be 
terse  and  vigorous;  and  it  is  improved  when  every  verse 
closes  with  a  sense  so  full  and  pointed  as  frequently  to  make 
some  approach  to  the  character  of  the  ancient  epigram  ;  or, 
as  Mr.  Montgomery  has  happily  expressed  it,  "each  stanza 
should  be  a  poetical  tune,  played  down  to  the  last  note." — 
The  meaning  ought  also  to  be  so  obvious  as  to  be  compre- 
hended at  once,  that  men  may  speak  to  God  directly,  with- 
out being  distracted  by  investigating  the  real  meaning  of  the 
words  put  into  their  lips.  And  when  metaphor  is  efficient- 
ly employed,  it  must  be  generally  such  as  the  Scriptures 


280 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


have  already  sanctioned  ;  for  with  their  imagery  we  are  all 
familiar,  and  it  stands  consecrated  to  the  service  of  the  sanc- 
tuary by  inspired  authority.  Yet  even  this  ought  not  to  be 
adopted  in  an  extended  form,  approaching  to  allegory  ;  and 
is  alwaj'S  more  successful  when  rather  lightly  touched  and 
suggested,  than  when  dwelt  upon  with  particularity.  Cow- 
per's  fine  hymn  on  Providence  is  greatly  improved  by  omit- 
ting the  stanza : — 

"  His  purposes  will  ripen  fast, 

Unfolding  every  hour; 
The  bud  may  have  a  bitter  taste, 

But  sweet  will  be  the  flower." 

This  is  a  figure  not  only  not  found  in  sacred  inspired  poe- 
try, but  which  has  too  much  preiiiness  to  be  the  vehicle  of 
a  sublime  thought,  and  the  verse  has  moreover  the  fault  of 
an  absurd  antithesis,  as  well  as  a  false  rhyme.  Many  modern 
hymns  are,  indeed,  as  objectionable  from  the  character  of 
their  imagery,  as  from  the  meagreness  of  their  thoughts; 
and  there  are  a  few  somewhat  popular,  which,  leaving  out 
or  changing  a  few  sacred  terms,  would  chime  agreeably 
enough  to  the  most  common  sentimental  subjects. 

To  Dr.  Watts  and  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  the  largest  share 
of  gratitude  is  due,  in  modern  times,  from  the  churches  of 
Christ,  for  that  rich  supply  of  "  Psalms  and  Hymns  and 
Spiritual  Songs,"  in  which  the  assemblies  of  the  pious  may 
make  melody  unto  the  Lord,  in  strains  which  "angels  might 
often  delight  to  hear."  No  others  are  to  be  named  with  these 
sweet  singers  of  the  spiritual  Israel ;  and  it  is  probable  that, 
through  the  medium  of  their  verse  chiefly,  will  the  devotions 
of  our  churches  be  poured  forth  till  time  shall  be  no  more. 
No  other  poets  ever  attained  such  elevation  as  this.  They 
honoured  God  in  their  gifts,  and  God  has  thus  honoured 
them  to  be  the  mouth  of  his  people  to  him,  in  their  solemn 
assemblies,  in  their  private  devotions,  and  in  the  struggles 
of  death  itself. 

It  would  be  an  unprofitable  task  to  compare  the  merits  of 
these  two  great  psalmists.  Each  had  excellencies  not  found 
in  the  other.  Watts,  however,  excels  Mr.  Charles  Wesley, 
only  in  the  sweeter  flow  of  his  numbers,  and  in  the  feeling 
and  sympathy  of  those  of  his  hymns  which  are  designed  to 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


281 


administer  comfort  to  the  afflicted.  In  composition  he  was, 
in  all  respects,  decidedl\'  his  inferior, — in  good  taste,  classic 
elegance,  uniformity  of  excellence,  correct  rhyming,  and 
vigour.  As  to  the  theology  pf  their  hymns  respectively, 
leaving  particular  doctrines  out  of  the  question,  the  great 
truths  of  i-elrgious  experience  are  also  far  more  clearly  and 
forcibly  embodied  by  IMr.  Charles  Wesley  than  by  Dr.  Watts. 
Most  justly  does  his  brother  say  of  them  in  his  preface  to 
••  The  Collection  of  Hymns  for  the  use  of  the  people  called 
Methodists,"  of  which,  only  a  few  are  his  own,  and  almost 
the  rest  from  the  pen  of  IMr.  Charles  Wesley, — "In  these 
hymns,  there  is  no  doggerel,  no  botches,  nothing  put  in  to 
patch  up  the  rhyme,  no  feeble  expletives.  Here  is  nothing 
turgid  or  bombastic,  on  the  one  hand,  or  low  and  creeping 
on  the  other.  Here  are  no  cant  expressions,  no  words  with- 
out meaning.  Here  are  (allow  me  to  say)  both  the  purify, 
the  strength,  and  the  elegance  of  the  English  language ;  and, 
at  the  same  time,  the  utmost  simplicity  and  plainness,  suited 
to  every  capacity."* 

*  In  tliis  collection,  beside  a  few  hynins  by  Mr.  John  Wesley,  there 
are  four  or  five  from  Dr.  Watts.  Several  are  translations  by  the 
Weslcys :  one  from  the  Spanish,  "  O  God,  niy  God,  my  all  thou  art  " 
&c. :  one  from  the  French,  ''■  Come  Saviour  Jesus,  from  above:"  and 
the  others  from  the  German  hymns  of  the  Lutheran  and  Moravian 
churches.  Several  of  these  translated  hymns  Mr.  Montgomery  has 
inserted  in  his  "  Psalmist,"  and  marked  "  Moravian."  They  appear 
indeed  in  the  Moravian  Hymn  Book,  but  in  departments  there,  in 
which  are  also  found  the  hynms  of  Dr.  AVatts  and  other  English  au- 
thors. The  preface  of  the  edition  of  1754,  the  first  authorizt^  collec- 
tion of  the  English  Moravians,  and  which  embodies  their  former  un- 
authorized publications,  acknowledges  "  the  foregoing  labours  of  Mr. 
Jacobi  antl  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wesley,"  in  the  translation  of  German 
hymns  of  Ihe  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  besides  extracts  of 
English  ones  of  the  eighteenth,  from  "  Watts,  Stennett,  Davis,  Ers- 
kine,  Wesley,"  &c. ;  which  acknowledgment  was  no  doubt  overlooked 
by  Mr.  Montgomery.  The  hymns  translated  by  the  Weslevs,  and 
said  by  Mr.  Montgomery  in  his  collection  to  be  "  Moravian,"  arc, 
"  Thou  hidden  love  of  God,  whose  height ;''  "  Thee  will  I  love,  my 
strength,  my  tower;"  "  Shall  I  for  fear  of  feeble  man;"  "  O  thou 
who  earnest  from  above  ;"  "  Now  1  have  found  the  ground  wherein ;" 
"  My  soul  before  thee  prostrate  lies;"  and  "  Holy  Lamb,  who  thee 
receive."  Now  all  these  were  published  by  the  Wesleys  before  the 
Mora\ian  Hymn  Book  of  17.Vt.  in  which  the  "  foregoing  labours  of 
Mr.  Wesley,"  in  translaling  from  the  German,  are  acknowledged  ; 
and  indeed  most  of  them  appear  in  the  very  first  hymn  books  publisli- 


282 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


Few  persons  ever  wrote  so  much  poetry  of  the  sacred  and 
devotional  kind,  as  Mr.  Charles  Wesley.  It  amounts  to 
forty -eight  distinct  publications  of  diflferent  sizes,  from  the 

ed  by  John  and  Charles  Wesley,  two  of  which  bear  date  so  early  as 
1739,  fifteen  years  previous  to  the  publication  of  the  authorized  Mora- 
vian collection.  As  translations,  they  are  not  therefore  "Moravian;'' 
and,  when  they  are  translated  from  "  the  German,"  it  does  not  follow 
that  they  all  have  a  Moravian  original,  though  some  of  them  may ;  for 
the  Moravian  German  book,  like  the  English,  as  we  learn  from  the 
preface  to  their  English  Hymn  Book,  "consists  as  well  of  hymns  out 
of  preceding  church  collections  of  their  neighbours,  as  of  others  com- 
posed by  themselves."  The  hymn,  "  High  on  his  everlasting  throne," 
marked  "  Moravian"  by  Mr.  Montgomery,  and  mentioned  also  in  his 
preface,  is  a  Moravian  German  hymn ;  but  the  translation  is  by  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley;  whilst  "  Give  to  the  winds  thy  fears,"  also  marked 
Moravian,  is  a  German  hymn  of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  the  trans 
lation  is  Mr.  Charles  Wesley's.  Of  this  hynm  there  is  a  version  in 
Uie  Moravian  English  Hymn  Book ;  the  last  stanza  of  which,  when 
placed  beside  Mr.  C.  Wesley's,  wdll  show  with  what  strength  of  inter, 
iial  evidence  his  translations  distinguish  themselves : — 


Wesley's. 

Thou  seest  our  weakness.  Lord, 
Our  hearts  are  known  to  thee  ; 

O  Uft  thou  up  the  sinking  hand, 
Confirm  the  feeble  knee ! 
Let  us  in  life  and  denth, 
Thy  steadfast  truth  declare  ; 

And  publish  with  our  latest  breath 
Thy  love  and  guardian  care. 


Moravian. 

O  Lord,  thou  seest  our  weakness, 

Yet  know'st  what  our  hearts  mean; 
Against  desponding  slackness, 

Our  feeble  knees  sustain. 
Till,  and  beyond  death's  valley, 

Let  us  thy  truth  declare : 
Yea,  then  emphatically, 

Boast  of  thy  guardian  care. 


Some  other  comparisons  might  be  made  between  Mr.  C.  Wesley's 
translations  from  German  hymns  and  those  from  the  same  originals 
found  in  the  Moravian  Hymn  Book,  which  would  sufficiently  show 
that  the  Moravians,  then  at  least,  had  no  translator  into  English  verse 
at  all  comparable  to  liim ;  and  indeed  they  have  sufficient  taste  gene- 
rally to  adopt  his  translations  in  preference.  But  this  is  no  reason 
why  he  should  lose  the  credit  of  his  own  admirable  pcrfonnances  in 
this  department.  Respect  to  literary  justice  has  drawn  out  this  note 
to  so  great  a  length ;  and  it  was  the  more  necessary  to  state  the  mat- 
ter correctly,  because  Mr.  Montgomery's  "  Psalmist"  might  in  future 
mislead.  The  first  editions  of  the  hymns  and  sacred  poems,  by  the 
Wesleys,  viz.,  those  of  1739,  1743,  and  1745,  in  which  most  of  the 
above  liymns  are  found,  with  several  others  in  the  Moravian  Hynui 
Book,  are  now  become  scarce,  and  in  a  few  years  m<ay  not  be  forth- 
coming to  correct  the  error.  For  this  reason  it  may  also  be  noticed 
that  Mr.  Montgomery  has  inserted  in  his  collection  several  hymns  by 
Charles  Wesley  as  the  composition  of  "  authors  unknown."  These, 
too,  are  found  in  the  early  editions  of  the  Wesley  hymns  and  poems, 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


283 


duodecimo  volump,  to  the  pamphlet  of  one  or  two  sheets. 
Besides  what  is  publislicd,  several  thick  quarto  volumes  of 
poetry  in  MS.  remain,  chiefly  consisting  of  brief  illustrations 
or  paraphrases  of  the  leading  texts  in  the  gospels  and  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  and  not  inferior  to  his  "  Short  Hymns  on 
the  chief  passages  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,"  which 
have  passed  through  several  editions.  A  few  of  his  poems 
are  playful,  a  few  others  are  keenly  satirical.  He  satirized 
his  brother's  ordinations,  and  the  preachers;  but,  high 
churchman  as  he  was,  he  is  very  unsparing  in  the  use  of 
his  poetic  whip  upon  the  persecuting  and  irreligious  clergy. 

and  in  some  later  ones,  as,  "  Come  let  us  who  in  Christ  believe;" 
"  Come,  O  thou  all- victorious  Lord  ;"  "  Fountain  of  being,  source  of 
good  i"  "God  of  my  life,  whose  gracious  power;"  "Jesus,  my  strength, 
my  hope ;"  "  Jesus,  the  name  high  over  all;"  "Leader  of  faithful 
eouls,  and  guide;"  "  O  that  thou  would'st  the  heavens  rent;"  "  Spi- 
rit of  truth,  come  down  ;"  "  Thee,  O  my  God  and  King;"  "  Thy 
ceaseless,  unexhausted  love  ;"  and,  "  When  quiet  in  my  house  I  sit." 
There  are  two  ways  of  accounting  for  Mr.  Montgomery's  want  of 
information  as  to  those  hymns : — that  he  was  not  in  possession  of  the 
early  editions  of  hynms  published  by  John  and  Charles  Wesley ; — 
and  that  some  of  tlie  h}Tims  in  the  hymn  book  in  use  amongst  us, 
which  he  has  ascribed  to  authors  unknown,  arc  parts  of  longer  hymns, 
and  were  selected  by  Mr.  John  Wesley  from  his  brother's  poetry, 
sometimes  from  the  middle  or  end  of  a  piece,  so  that  the  first  lines 
would  not  be  found  in  the  old  inde.ves  when  consulted.  Mr.  Charles 
Wesley's  hymns  have  not  been  unfrequently  clauned  for  others,  with- 
out any  design  to  be  unjust.  In  the  Christian  Observer,  a  few  years 
ago,  that  exquisite  production  of  one  of  liis  happiest  moments,  "Jesus, 
lover  of  my  soul,''  was  assigned  to  Mr.  Madan,  although  published 
by  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  in  the  year  1713 ;  and  the  translation  from 
the  French,  "  Come,  Saviour  Jesus,  from  above,"  is  found  in  the 
poetical  works  of  Dr.  John  Byrom,  published  in  1773,  although  it  ap- 
pears in  the  Wesley  "  Hymns  and  Poems"  of  1739.  The  probabih- 
ty  is,  that  a  copy  of  it  was  found  among  Byrom's  papers,  and  so  the 
editor  of  his  poems  concluded  it  to  be  his.  A  correct  list  of  the  differ- 
ent editions  of  the  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems  published  by  the  Wes- 
leys  will  be  found  in  the  last  volume  of  Wesley's  works,  recently  com- 
pleted. The  editions  of  1739  are  scarce,  and  it  ought  to  be  noticed 
that  there  arc  tvo  distinct  works  published  under  the  same  title  of 
"  Hymns  and  Sacred  Poems,"  each  bearing  that  date.  The  hymn 
book  now  in  use  was  compiled  by  Mr.  John  Wesley  out  of  the  pre- 
ceding h)^nn  books,  of  different  sizes  and  editions,  and  from  his  bro- 
ther's "  Festival  Hynms,''  "  Scripture  Hymns,"  &.c.  The  whole  un- 
derwent his  severe  criticism,  and  he  abridged  and  corrected  them  with 
a  taste  and  judgment  which  greatly  increased  their  value. 


284 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


Of  this,  some  of  his  published,  and  several  of  his  unpublish- 
ed paraphrases,  on  passages  of  the  gospels,  and  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,  in  which  the  persecuting  deeds  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  are  recorded,  afford  sonic  caustic  specimens;* 
and  sufficiently  indicate  that  he  did  not  bear  the  contumely 
and  opposition  of  his  high  church  brethren  witii  tlie  equa 
iiimity  and  gentleness  of  his  brother  John.  He  also  took  a 
part  in  the  Calvinistic  controversy,  by  writing  his  hymns  or 
poems  on  God's  universal  love.  But  by  far  the  greater  part 
of  his  poetry  was  consecrated  to  promote  the  work  of  God 
in  the  heart.  Never  were  its  different  branches,  from  the 
first  awakening  of  the  soul  out  of  the  sleep  of  sin,  to  its  state 
of  perfected  holiness,  with  all  its  intermediate  conflicts  and 
exercises,  more  jiisll;,'  or  scriptiirally  expressed;  and  there 
is,  perhaps,  no  uniiit^pircd  book  from  which,  as  to  "the  deep 
things  of  God,"  so  muc  h  is  to  be  learned,  as  from  his  hyinu 
book  in  use  in  the  T-Ulliodist  congregations.  The  funeral 
hymns  in  this  collection  have  but  little  of  the  softness  of  sor- 
row— perhaps  loo  lillle  ;  but  they  are  written  in  that  fulness 
of  faith,  which  exclaims  over  the  open  tomb,  "  Thanks  be 
to  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus 

*  As  almcst  all  the  family  were  poets,  so  they  were  all  character- 
ized by  a  vein  of  satire.  This  tJicy  appear  to  have  inherited  froip 
their  father,  whose  wit  was  both  ready  and  pungent.  The  following 
is  an  instance,  copied  from  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  for  the  year 
1802  ;— 

"  The  authenticity  of  the  following  extempore  grace  by  the  Rev, 
Samuel  WcsUy,  (father  of  the  Rev.  John,)  formerly  rector  of  Ep- 
wortli,  iiiny  be  relied  on.  It  is  given  on  tlie  authority  of  the  late 
WiUiani  l^.ii  hH  1  "  .i  ot" Gainsborough,  whose  father,  the  preserver 
of  John  fii  7' 17,  was  present  at  the  time  it  was  spoken, 

at  Tciiipl.  1  dinner.    Mr.  P.,  at  whose  house  they 

dined,  was  a  i     .pound  of  avarice  and  odtUty;  many  of  his 

pingularitics  are  still  rciaembcrcd; 

•niaiiks  for  this  feast,  for  tis  no  less 
T)ion  <ariiii;  iii.iMiia  iii  llie  wilderness: 

HereiiM  ii.  .1    ii.  :irs  controlless  sway, 

Ande\ri  .1  ;i-  ^        I, liiiting  wretch  away. 

Yft  ),.■,,  .,(.        i,..,.„..l  a  saint's  belief!) 

Wfc'vf  s  -cu  ihi'  gliirros  iit  a  chine  of  beef; 

Here  chimneys  smoke,  which  never  smoked  before, 

And  we  have  dined,  where  we  shall  dine  no  more.'  " 

The  design  of  this  odd  extemporaneous  effusion,' we  arc  bound  to 
believe,  was  not  to  indulge  in  a  levity,  but  to  convey  a  useful  reproof. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


286 


Christ."  The  hymns  on  the  last  day  are  characterised  also 
by  the  same  unflinching  faith,  which,  rejoicing  in  the  smile 
of  the  Judge,  defies  the  wild  uproar  of  elements,  and  the  ge- 
neral conflagration  itself.  In  several  of  these,  Mr.  Charles 
Wesley  has  admirably  Christianized  the  "just  man"  of 
Horaf-e,  dreadless,  amidst  the  ruins  of  a  world : 

"  Si/ractus  illahatnr  orbis 
Jmpavidum/erient  ruince;" 

placing  the  same  fine  thought  in  various  aspects,  and  illus- 
trating it  by  diflferent  circumstances.  His  hymns  of  invita- 
tion are  sweet  and  persuasive;  and  those  on  justification  by 
faith,  admirably  illustrative  of  that  important  doctrine.  Of 
the  value  set  upon  this  hymn  book  hy  the  INIethodist  congre- 
gations, this  is  a  sufficient  proof,  that  above  sixty  thousand 
copies  are  sold  yearly  in  the  United  Kingdom  alone.*  The 
number  in  the  United  States  of  America,  must  be  considera- 
bly larger. 

With  reference  to  his  brother's  poetry,  a  remark  is  inci- 
dentally and  somewhat  oddly  introduced  by  Mr.  Wesley,  in 
his  Journal  of  1790,  Jan.  28 : 

"  I  retired  to  Peckham,  and  at  leisure  hours  read  part  of  a 
very  pretty  trille,  the  life  of  .Mrs.  Bellamy.  Surely  never  did 
any  since  John  Dryden  study  more 

'  To  make  vice  pleasing,,  and  damnation  shine,' 

than  this  lively  and  elegant  writer.  She  has  a  fine  imagina- 
tion, a  strong  understanding,  an  easy  style,  improved  by 
much  reading ;  a  fine,  benevolent  temper,  and  every  qualifi- 
cation that  could  consist  with  a  total  ignorance  of  God :  but 
God  was  not  in  all  lier  thoughts.  Abundance  of  anecdotes 
she  inserts,  which  may  be  true  or  false.  One  of  them,  con- 
cerning Mr.  Garrick,  is  curious :  she  says,  '  When  he  was 
taking  ship  for  England,  a  lady  presented  him  with  a  parcel, 
which  she  desired  him  not  to  open  till  he  was  at  sea.  When 

♦  As  the  number  of  hj-mns  in  this  book,  adapted  for  mixed  con- 
gregations and  festival  occasions,  was  not  thought  suflicient,  a  supple- 
ment is  now  added ;  containing  about  an  equal  number  of  hyinns,  by 
Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  and  by  other  authors.  Some  of  the  best  hjTiins 
he  ever  wrote  are  found  in  this  smaller  collection,  chiefly  on  the 
festivals. 


286 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


he  did,  he  found  Wesley's  Hymns,  which  he  immediately 
tlirew  over-board.'  I  cannot  believe  it.  I  think  Mr.  G.  had 
morcsen.se.  He  knew  my  brother  well.  And  he  knew  him 
to  be  not  only  far  superior  in  learning,  but  in  poetry,  to  Mr. 
ThoaLSon,  and  all  hi.s  theatrical  writers  put  together:  none 
of  thcni  can  equal  him,  either  in  strong  nervous  sense,  or 
purity  and  clcf  ance  of  language.  I'he  musical  composi- 
tions of  his  sons  are  not  more  excellent  that  the  poetical 
ones  of  their  fulher." 

The  last  end  of  the  truly  venerable  John  "Wesley  was  now 
also  approacliiiig.  He  was  on  his  regular  pastoral  visit  to 
Ireland,  when  he  entered  his  eighty-seventh  year,  on  which 
he  remarks  in  his  Journal.  "  This  day  I  enter  on  my  eighty- 
seventh  year.  I  now  find  I  grow  old.  1.  My  sight  is  decay- 
ed, so  that  I  cannot  read  a  small  print,  unless  in  a  strong 
light.  2.  My  strength  is  decayed,  so  that  I  walk  much  slow- 
er than  I  did  some  years  since.  3.  My  memory  of  names, 
whether  of  person.s  or  places,  is  decayed,  till  I  stop  a  little  to 
recollect  them.  What  I  should  be  afraid  of  is,  if  I  took 
thought  for  the  morrow,  that  my  body  should  weigh  down 
my  mind,  and  create  cither  stubbornness,  by  the  decrease  ot 
my  underptaihling,  or  peevishness,  by  the  increase  of  bodily 
infirmities :  but  thou  shalt  answer  for  me,  O  Lord  my  God !" 

Notwitlistanding  these  infirmities,  we  find  him  still  acting 
under  the  impression — "  I  must  be  about  my  Father's  busi- 
ness." Although  in  comparison  of  his  former  rapidity  of 
movement,  he  crept  rather  than  ran ;  it  was  still  in  the  same 
ceaseless  course  of  service.  After  holding  the  Irish  confe- 
rence in  Dublin,  and  the  English  conference  at  Leeds,  in 
Augiist,  he  returned  to  London  ;  from  thence  he  set  out  to 
Bristol,  and  proceeded  on  his  usual  tour  through  the  west  of 
England,  and  Cornwall.  Notwithstanding  his  regular  visits 
to  Cornwall,  he  appears,  from  some  reason,  not  to  have 
turned  aside  to  Falmouth,  since  the  time  of  his  preaching 
tiiere  forty  years  before  when  he  met  with  so  violent  a  re- 
ception. He  now  paid  that  place  a  visit,  and  remarks, — 
"  The  last  time  I  was  here,  about  forty  j'cars  ago,  I  was 
taken  prisoner  by  an  immense  mob,  gaping  and  roaring  like 
lions  ;  but  how  is  the  tide  turned  !  High  and  low  now  lined 
the  streets  from  one  end  of  the  town  to  the  other,  out  of 
Stark  love  and  kindness,  gaping  and  staring  as  if  the  king 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


287 


V,  ( ic  going  by.  In  the  evening  I  preached  on  the  smooth 
toj)  of  the  hill,  at  a  small  distance  from  the  sea,  to  the  largest 
congregation  I  have  ever  seen  in  Cornwall,  except  in  or 
near  Redruth ;  and  such  a  time  I  have  not  known  before, 
since  I  returned  from  Ireland.  God  moved  wonderfully  on 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  who  all  seemed  to  know  the  day 
of  their  visitation." 

From  Cornwall  he  returned  by  way  of  Bristol  and  Bath 
to  London.  In  the  early  part  of  the  next  year,  we  find  him 
again  at  Bristol ;  from  whence  he  proceeded,  preaching  at 
several  of  the  intermediate  towns,  to  Birmingham ;  and 
from  thence  through  Staffordshire  to  INIadeley,  where  we 
find  the  following  affecting  entry  in  his  Journal : — 

"  At  nine  I  preached  to  a  select  congregation  on  the  deep 
things  of  God ;  and  in  the  evening  on,  '  He  is  able  to  save 
unto  the  uttermost  of  ali  them  that  come  unto  God  through 
him.'  Friday  26,  I  finished  my  sermon  on  the  '  Wedding 
garment;'  perhaps  the  last  that  I  shall  write.  My  eyes  are 
now  waxed  dim.  My  natural  force  is  abated;  however, 
while  I  can,  I  would  fain  do  a  little  for  God,  before  I  drop 
into  the  dust." 

The  societies  in  Cheshire,  Lancashire,  and  the  North  of 
England,  once  more,  and  for  the  last  time,  saw  the  man,  to 
whom,  under  God,  they  owed  their  religious  existence.  On 
his  return  southward,  he  passed  through  the  East  Riding  of 
Yorkshire,  to  Hull:  preaching  in  every  place  as  on  the 
brink  of  eternity.  He  also  visited  Epworth,  and  various 
parts  of  Lincolnshire ;  and,  upon  attaining  his  eighty-eighth 
year,  has  the  following  reflections  : — 

"  This  day  I  enter  into  my  eighty-eighth  year.  For  above 
eighty-six  years,  I  found  none  of  the  infirmities  of  old  age  ; 
my  eyes  did  not  wax  dim,  nehher  was  my  natural  strength 
abated ;  but  last  August,  I  found  almost  a  sudden  change : 
my  eyes  were  so  dim  that  no  glasses  would  help  me ;  my 
strength  likewise  now  quite  forsook  me,  and  probably  will 
not  return  in  this  world :  but  I  feel  no  pain  from  head  to 
foot :  only  it  seems,  nature  is  exhausted,  and,  humanly 
speaking,  will  sink  more  and  more,  till 

'  The  weary  springs  of  life  stand  still  at  last.'  " 

"  This,"  says  Dr.  ^\^^itehead,  "at  length  was  literally  the 


288 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


case ;  the  death  of  Mr.  Wesley,  like  that  of  his  brother 
Charles,  being  one  of  those  rare  instances  in  which  nature, 
drooping  under  the  load  of  years,  sinks  by  a  gentle  decay. 
For  several  years  preceding  his  death,  this  decay  was,  per- 
haps, more  visible  to  others  than  to  himself,  particularly  by  a 
more  frc(iiient  disposition  to  .sleep  during  the  day,  by  a 
growing  defect  in  memory,  a  faculty  he  once  possessed  in  a 
high  degree  of  perfection,  and  by  a  general  diminution  of 
the  vigour  and  agility  he  had  so  long  enjoyed.  His  labours, 
however,  suffered  little  interruption  ;  and  when  the  sum- 
mons came,  it  found  him,  as  he  always  wished  it  should,  in 
the  haj-jieiis,  still  occupied  in  his  Master's  work  !" 

Still  his  Journal  records  his  regular  visitation  of  the  prin- 
cipal places  where  societies  existed,  and  exhibits  the  same 
variety  and  raciness  of  remark  on  men  and  books,  and  other 
subjects,  although  writing  must,  at  that  time,  have  become 
exceedingly  difficult  to  him  from  the  failure  of  his  sight. 
This  most  interesting  record  of  unparalleled  labours  "  in  the 
Gospel"  was,  for  this  reason,  it  is  presumed,  discontinued, 
and  closed,  on  Sunday,  October  24th,  1790,  when  he  states 
that  he  preached  twice  at  Spitalfields  church.  He  continued 
however,  during  the  autumn  and  winter,  to  visit  various 
places  till  February,  continually  praying,  "  Lord,  let  me  not 
live  to  be  useless."  The  following  account  of  his  last  days 
is  taken  from  the  memoir  prefixed  to  the  edition  of  his 
works  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Benson,  and  is  there  inserted  as  a 
proper  close  to  his  Journal : — 

"  He  preached,  as  usual,  in  different  places  in  London  and 
its  vicinity,  generally  meeting  the  society  after  preaching 
in  each  place,  and  exhorting  them  to  love  as  brethren,  to fear 
God,  and  honour  the  king,  which  he  wished  them  to  con- 
sider as  his  last  advice.  He  then  usually,  if  not  invariably, 
concluded,  with  giving  out  that  verse, — 

'  O  that,  without  a  ling'ring  groan 

I  may  the  welcome  word  receive ; 
My  body  with  my  charge  lay  down, 

And  cease  at  once  to  work  and  live.' 

"  He  proceeded  in  this  way  till  the  usual  time  of  his 
leaving  London  approached,  when,  with  a  view  to  take  his 
accustomed  jom-ney  through  Ireland  or  Scotland,  he  sent 
his  chaise  and  horses  before  him  to  Bristol,  and  took  places 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


289 


for  himself  and  his  friend  in  the  Bath  coach.  But  his  mind, 
witii  all  its  vigour,  could  no  longer  uphold  his  worn-out  and 
sinking  body.  Its  powers  ceased,  although,  by  slow  and 
almost  imperceptible  degrees,  to  perform  their  sundry  offi- 
ces, until,  as  he  often  expressed  himself, 

'  The  weary  wheels  of  life  stood  still  at  last.' 

"  Thursday,  February  17,  1791,  he  preached  at  Lambeth ; 
birt,  on  his  return,  seemed  much  indisposed,  and  said,  he  had 
taken  cold.  The  next  day,  however,  he  read  and  wrote  as 
usual ;  and  in  the  evening,  preached  at  Che!.?ea,  from  "  The 
king's  business  requires  haste,"  although  with  somedifficul- 
tj"^,  having  a  high  degree  of  fever  upon  him.  Indeed  he  was 
obliged  to  stop  once  or  twice,  informing  the  people  that  his 
cold  so  affected  his  voice  as  to  prevent  his  speaking  without 
those  necessary  pauses.  On  Saturday  he  still  persevered  in 
his  usual  employments,  though,  to  those  about  him,  his 
complaints  seemed  evidcntlj^  increasing.  He  dined  at 
Islington,  and  at  dinner  desired  a  friend  to  read  to  him  four 
chapters  out  of  the  book  of  Job,  viz.  from  tlie  fourth  to  the 
seventh  inclusive.  On  Sunday  he  rose  eaJy,  according  to 
custom,  but  quite  unfit  for  any  of  his  usual  Sabbath-day's 
exercises.  At  seven  o'clock  he  was  obliged  to  lie  down,  and 
slept  between  three  and  foin*  hours.  Wlicn  he  awoke,  he 
said,  "  I  have  not  had  such  a  comfortable  sleep  this  fort- 
night past."  In  he  afternoon  he  lay  down  again,  and  slept 
an  hour  or  two.  Afterwards  two  of  his  own  discourses  on 
on  our  Lord's  sermon  on  the  mount  were  read  to  him,  and 
in  the  evening  he  came  down  to  supper. 

"  Monday  the  21st,  he  seemed  much  better;  and  though 
his  friends  tried  to  dissuade  him  from  it,  he  would  keep  an 
engagement,  made  some  time  before,  to  dine  at  Twickenham. 
In  his  way  thither  he  called  on  Lady  Mary  Fitzgerald:  the 
conversation  was  truly  profitable,  and  well  became  a  last 
visit.  On  Tuesday  he  went  on  with  his  usual  work,  preach- 
ed in  the  evening  at  the  chapel  in  the  City-road,  and  seemed 
much  better  than  he  had  been  for  some  days.  On  Wednes- 
day he  went  to  Leatherhead,  and  preached  to  a  small  com- 
pany on,  "Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found;  call 
ye  upon  him  while  he  is  near."   This  proved  to  be  his  last 


290 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


sermon  :  here  ended  the  public  labours  of  this  great  minis- 
ter of  Jesus  Christ.  On  Tliursday  he  paid  a  visit  to  Mr. 
Wolff's  family  at  Balham,  where  he  was  cheerful,  and  seem- 
ed nearly  as  well  as  usual,  till  Friday,  about  breakfast  time, 
when  he  grew  very  heavy.  About  eleven  o'clock  he  return- 
ed home,  extremely  ill.  His  friends  were  struck  with  the 
manner  of  his  getting  out  of  the  carriage,  and  still  more  with 
his  apparent  weakness  when  he  went  up  stairs  and  sat  down 
in  his  chair.  He  now  desired  to  be  left  alone,  and  not  to  be 
interrupted  by  any  one,  for  half  an  hour.  When  that  time 
was  expired,  some  mulled  wine  was  brought  him,  of  which 
he  drank  a  little.  In  a  few  minutes  he  threw  it  up,  and  said, 
'  I  must  lie  down.'  His  friends  were  now  alarmed,  and  Dr. 
Whitehead  was  immediately  sent  for.  On  his  entering  the 
room,  he  said,  in  a  cheerful  voice,  '  doctor,  they  are  more 
afraid  than  hurt.'  Most  of  this  day  he  lay  in  bed,  had  a 
quick  pulse,  with  a  considerable  degree  of  fever  and  stupor. 
And  Saturday,  the  26th,  he  continued  in  much  the  same 
state ;  taking  very  little  either  of  medicine  or  nourishment. 

"Sunday  morning  he  seemed  much  better,  got  up,  and 
took  a  cup  of  tea.  Sitting  in  his  chair,  he  looked  quite 
cheerful,  and  repeated  the  latter  part  of  the  verse,  in  his 
brother  Charles's  Scripture  Hymns,  on  'Forsake  me  not 
when  my  strength  faileth,^  viz. — 

'  Till  glad  I  lay  this  body  down, 

Thy  servant,  Lord,  attend ; 
And,  O  !  my  life  of  mercy  crown 

With  a  triumphant  end.' 

Soon  after,  in  a  most  emphatical  manner,  he  said,  '  our  friend 
Lazarus  sleepeth.'  Exerting  himself  to  converse  with  some 
friends,  he  was  soon  fatigued,  and  obliged  to  lie  down.  After 
lying  quiet  some  time,  he  looked  up,  and  said,  'speak  to 
me;  I  cannot  speak.'  On  which  one  of  the  company  said, 
'  shall  we  pray  Avith  you,  sir  ?'  He  earnestly  replied,  '  yes.' 
And  while  they  prayed,  his  whole  soul  seemed  engaged  with 
God  for  an  answer,  and  his  hearty  amen  showed  that  he 
perfectly  understood  what  was  said.  About  half  an  hour 
after,  he  said,  '  there  is  no  need  of  more ;  when  at  Bristol 
my  words  were, 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


291 


'  1  the  chief  of  sinners  am, 
But  Jesus  died  for  me.'» 

"  One  said,  '  is  this  the  present  language  of  your  heart, 
and  do  you  now  feel  as  you  did  then  V  He  replied  '  yes.' 
When  the  same  person  repeated, 

'  Bold  I  approach  the  eternal  throne, 

And  claim  the  crown,  through  Christ,  my  own 

and  added,  '  'tis  enough.  He  our  precious  Immanuel  has 
purchased,  has  promised,  all ;'  he  earnestly  replied,  '  He  is 
all!  He  is  all !'  After  this  the  fever  was  very  high,  and,  at 
times,  affected  his  recollection ;  but  even  then,  though  his 
head  was  subject  to  a  temporary  derangement,  his  heart 
seemed  wholly  engaged  in  his  Master's  work.  In  the  even- 
ing he  got  up  again,  and,  while  sitting  in  his  chair,  he  said, 
'how  necessary  it  is  for  every  one  to  be  on  the  right  foun- 
dation ! 

'  I  the  chief  of  sinners  am, 
But  Jesus  died  for  me!' ' 

"Monday,  the  28th,  his  weakness  increased.  He  slept 
most  of  the  day,  and  spoke  but  little ;  yet  that  little  testified 
how  much  his  whole  heart  was  taken  up  in  the  care  of  the 
societies,  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  promotion  of  the  things 
pertaining  to  that  kingdom  to  which  he  was  hastening. — 

*  At  the  Bristol  conference,  in  1783,  Mr.  "Wesley  was  taken  very 
ill ;  neither  he  nor  his  friends  thought  he  could  reoover.  From  the 
nature  of  his  complaint,  he  supposed  a  spasm  would  seize  his  stomach, 
and,  probaljl5',  occasion  sudden  death.  Under  these  \'iews  of  his 
situation,  he  said  to  Mr.  Bra.lford,  "  I  have  been  reflecting  on  my 
past  Ufe :  I  have  Iwen  wandering  up  and  down,  between  fifty  and  six- 
ty years,  endeavouring,  in  my  poor  way,  to  do  a  little  good  to  my  fel- 
low-creatures:  and  now  it  is  probable,  that  there  are  but  a  few  stej^s 
between  me  and  death ;  and  what  have  I  to  trust  to  for  salvation  "?  I 
can  see  nothing  which  I  have  done  or  suflered,  that  will  bear  looking 
at.    I  have  no  other  plea  than  this, 

'I  tlie  chief  of  sinners  am, 
But  Jesus  died  for  me.'  " 

The  sentiment  here  expressed,  and  his  reference  to  it  in  his  last  sick- 
ness, plainly  show  how  steadily  he  had  persevered  in  the  same  views 
of  the  Gospel. 


292 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


Once  he  said,  in  a  low  but  distinct  manner,  '  there  is  no  Avay 
into  the  holiest,  but  by  the  blood  of  Jesus.'  He  afterwards 
inquired  what  the  words  were  from  which  he  had  preached 
a  little  before  at  Hampstead.  Being  told  they  were  these, 
'  ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  though 
he  was  rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  he  became  poor,  that  ye 
through  his  poverty  might  be  rich :'  he  replied,  '  that  is  the 
foundation,  the  only  foundation :  there  is  no  other.'  This 
day  Dr.  Whitehead  desired  he  might  be  asked,  if  he  would 
have  any  other  pliysician  called  in  to  attend  him  ;  but  this 
he  absolutely  refused.  It  is  remarkable  that  he  suffered  very 
little  pain,  never  complaining  of  any  during  his  illness,  but 
once  of  a  pain  in  his  left  breast.  This  was  a  restless  night. 
Tuesday  morning  he  sang  two  verses  of  a  hymn  :  then  ly- 
ing still,  as  if  to  recover  strength,  he  called  for  pen  and  ink  ; 
but  when  they  were  brought,  he  could  not  write.  A  person 
said,  '  let  me  write  for  you,  sir :  tell  me  what  you  would 
say.'  He  replied,  '  nothing,  but  that  God  is  with  us.'  In 
the  forenoon  he  said,  '  I  will  get  up.'  Wliile  they  were 
preparing  his  clothes,  he  broke  out  in  a  manner  which,  con- 
sidering his  extreme  weakness,  astonished  all  present,  in 
singing, 

'  I'll  praise  my  Maker  while  I've  breath, 
And  when  uiy  voice  is  lost  in  death, 

Praise  shall  employ  my  nobler  powers: 
My  days  of  praise  shall  ne'er  be  past, 
While  life,  and  thought,  and  being  last, 

Or  immortality  endures !' 

<'  Having  got  him  into  his  chair,  they  observed  him  change 
for  death.  But  he,  regardless  of  his  dying  body,  said,  with 
a  weak  voice,  '  Lord,  thou  givest  strength  to  those  that  can 
speak,  and  to  those  who  cannot.  Speak,  Lord,  to  all  our 
hearts,  and  let  them  know  that  thou  loosest  tongues.'  He 
then  sung, 

'  To  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
Who  sweetly  all  agree, — ' 

Here  his  voice  failed.  After  gasping  for  breath,  he  said, 
'  now  we  have  done  all.'  He  was  then  laid  in  the  bed,  from 
which  he  rose  no  more.  After  resting  a  little  he  called  to 
those  who  were  with  him  to  '  pray  and  praise,'  They  kneel- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


293 


( <1  down,  and  the  room  seemed  to  be  filled  with  the  divine 
presence.  A  little  after,  he  said,  'let  me  be  buried  in  no- 
Thmg  but  what  is  woollen,  and  let  my  corpse  be  carried  into 
the  chapel.'  Then,  as  if  he  had  done  with  all  below,  he 
■^'j-\[n  begged  they  would  pra}"  and  praise.  Several  friends 
tliat  were  in  the  house  being  called  up,  they  all  kneeled 
down  again  to  prayer,  at  which  time  his  fervour  of  spirit 
was  manifest  to  every  one  present.  But  in  particular  parts 
of  the  prayer,  his  M'hole  soul  seemed  to  be  engaged  in  a 
manner  which  evidently  showed  how  ardently  he  longed 
for  the  full  accomplishment  of  their  united  desires.  And 
when  one  of  the  preachers  M'as  praying  in  a  very  expressive 
manner,  that  if  God  M-ere  about  to  take  away  their  father  to 
his  eternal  rest.  He  would  bepleased  to  continue  and  increase 
his  blessing  upon  the  doctrine  and  discipline  which  He  had 
l(ing  made  his  servant  the  means  of  propagating  and  esta- 
Misliing  in  the  world ;  such  a  degree  of  fervour  accompani- 
ed liis  loud  amen,  as  was  every  wa)'  expressive  of  his  soul's 
being  engaged  in  the  answer  of  the  petitions.  On  rising 
from  their  knees,  he  took  hold  of  all  their  hands,  and,  with 
the  utmost  placidness,  saluted  them,  and  said,  '  Farewell, 
farewell.' 

"  A  little  after,  a  person  coming  in,  he  strove  to  speak,  but 
could  not.  Finding  they  could  not  understand  him,  he 
paused  a  little,  and  then,  with  all  the  remaining  strength  he 
had,  cried  out,  The  best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us;  and,  soon 
after  lifting  up  his  dying  arm  in  token  of  victory,  and  rais- 
ing his  feeble  voice  with  a  holy  triumph  not  to  be  expressed, 
he  again  repeated  the  heart-reviving  words,  The  best  of 
all  is,  God  is  iciih  us.  Being  told  that  his  brother's  widow 
was  come,  he  said, '  He  giveth  his  servants  rest.'  He  thank- 
ed her,  as  she  pressed  his  hand,  and  affectionately  endea- 
voured to  kiss  her.  On  his  lips  being  wetted,  he  said,  '  We 
thank  thee,  O  Lord,  for  these  and  all  thy  mercies  :  bless  the 
church  and  king ;  and  grant  us  truth  and  peace,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  for  ever  and  ever !'  At  another  time 
he  said, '  He  causeth  his  servants  to  lie  down  in  peace.' 
Then  pausing  a  little,  he  cried,  'The  clouds  drop  fatness  !' 
and  soon  after,  '  The  Lord  is  with  us,  the  God  of  Jacob  is  our 
refuge !'  He  then  called  those  present  to  prayer :  and 
though  he  was  greatly  exhausted,  he  appeared  still  more 


294 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


fervent  in  spirit.  These  exertions  were,  however,  too  much 
for  his  feeble  frame  ;  and  most  of  the  night  following,  though 
lie  often  attempted  to  repeat  the  psalm  before  mentioned,  he 
could  only  utter, 

'  I'll  praise — I'll  praise!' 

"  On  Wednesday  morning,  the  closing  scene  drew  near. 
Mr.  Bradford,  his  faithful  friend,  prayed  with  him,  and  the 
last  words  he  was  heard  to  articulate  were,  '  Farewell !'  A 
few  minutes  before  ten,  while  several  of  his  friends  were 
kneeling  around  his  bed,  without  a  lingering  groan,  this  man 
of  God,  this  beloved  pastor  of  thousands,  entered  into  the 
joy  of  his  Lord. 

"  He  was  in  the  eighty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  had  been 
sixty-five  years  in  the  ministry;  and  the  preceding  pages 
will  be  a  lasting  memorial  of  his  uncommon  zeal,  diligence, 
and  usefulness,  in  his  Master's  work,  for  more  than  half  a 
century.  His  death  was  an  admirable  close  to  so  laborious 
and  useful  a  life. 

"  At  the  desire  of  many  of  his  friends  his  corpse  was 
placed  in  the  new  chapel,  and  remained  there  the  day  before 
his  interment.  His  face  during  that  time  had  a  heavenly 
smile  upon  it,  and  a  beauty  which  was  admired  by  all  that 
saw  it. 

"  March  the  9th  was  the  day  appointed  for  his  interment. 
The  preachers  then  in  London  requested  that  Dr.  Whitehead 
should  deliver  the  funeral  discourse ;  and  the  executors  af- 
terwards approved  of  the  appointment.  Tlie  intention  was 
to  carry  the  corpse  into  the  chapel,  and  place  it  in  a  raised 
situation  before  the  pulpit  during  the  service.  But  the 
crowds  which  came  to  see  the  body  while  it  lay  in  the  coffin, 
both  in  the  private  house,  and  especially  in  the  chapel,  the 
day  before  his  funeral,  were  so  great,  that  his  friends  were 
apprehensive  of  a  tumult,  if  they  should  adopt  the  plan  first 
intended.  It  was  therefore  resolved  the  evening  before,  to 
bury  him  between  five  and  six  in  the  morning.  Though 
the  time  of  notice  to  his  friends  was  short,  and  the  design 
itself  was  spoken  of  with  great  caution,  yet  a  considerable 
number  of  i)ersons  attended  at  that  early  hour.  The  late 
Rev.  Mr.  Richardson,  who  now  lies  with  him  in  the  same 
vault,  read  the  funeral  service  in  a  manner  that  made  it  pe- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


295 


culiarly  affecting.  When  he  came  to  that  part  of  it, '  Foras- 
much as  it  hath  pleased  Almighty  God  to  take  unto  himself 
the  soul  of  our  dear  brother,''  &c.,  he  substituted,  with  the 
most  tender  emphasis,  the  epithet  father,  instead  of  brother, 
which  had  so  powerful  an  effect  on  the  congregation,  that 
from  silent  tears  they  seemed  universally  to  burst  out  into 
loud  weeping. 

INSCRIPTION  ON  mS  COFFIN. 

JOHANNES  WESLEY,  A.M. 
Olim  Soc.  Coll.  Lin.  Oxon. 
Ob.2do.  dieMartii,  1791. 
An.  Mi.  88.* 

"  Tlie  discourse,  by  Dr.  "VMiitehead,  was  delivered  in  the 
chapel  at  the  hour  appointed  in  the  forenoon,  to  an  astonish- 
ing multitude  of  people ;  among  whom  were  many  ministers 
of  the  gospel,  both  of  the  establishment  and  Dissenters.  The 
audience  was  still  and  solemn  as  night ;  and  all  seemed  to 
carry  away  with  them  enlarged  views  of  Mr.  Wesley's  cha- 
racter, and  serious  impressions  of  the  importance  of  re- 
ligion." 

The  following  is  the  inscription  on  the  marble  tablet 
erected  to  his  memory  in  the  chapel,  City-road : — 

Sacrrt  to  t1;c  ^Hcmoru 

Of  the  Rev.  JOHN  WESLEY,  M.A. 

Sometime  Fellow  of  Lincoln  College,  Oxford  ; 

A  Man  in  Learning  and  sincere  Piety 
Scarcely  inferior  to  any; 
In  Zeal,  Ministerial  Labours,  and  extensive  Usefulness, 
Superior,  perhaps,  to  all  Men, 
Since  the  Days  of  St.  Pacl. 
Regardless  of  Fatigue,  personal  Danger,  and  Disgrace, 

♦  "  John  Wesley,  Master  of  Arts,  formerly  Fellow  of  Lincoln 
College,  Oxford,  died  on  the  second  day  of  March,  1791,  in  the 
eighty-eighth  year  of  his  age," 


296 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


He  went  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges, 
Calling  Sinners  to  Repentance, 
And  Publishing  the  Gospel  of  Peace. 
He  was  the  Founder  of  the  Methodist  Societies, 
And  the  chief  promoter  and  Patron 
Of  the  Plan  of  Itinerant  preaching, 
Which  he  extended  through  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
The  West  Indies  and  America, 
With  unexampled  Success. 
He  was  born  the  17th  of  June,  1703 ; 
And  died  the  2d  of  March,  1791, 
In  sure  and  certain  hope  of  Eternal  Life, 
Through  the  Atonement  and  Mediation  of  a  Crucified 
Saviour. 

He  was  sixty-five  Years  in  the  Ministry, 

And  fifty-two  an  Itinerant  Preacher: 
He  lived  to  see,  in  these  Kingdoms  only, 
About  three  hundred  Itinerant, 
And  one  thousand  Local  Preachers, 
Raised  up  from  the  midst  of  his  own  People; 
And  eighty  thousand  Persons  in  the  Societies  under  his  care. 
His  Name  will  be  ever  had  in  grateful  Remembrance 
By  all  who  rejoice  in  the  universal  Spread 
Of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
Soli  Deo  Gloria. 

It  would  be  superflous  in  closing  this  account  of  a  man  at 
once  so  extraordinary  and  so  truly  great,  for  me  to  attempt 
a  delineation  of  his  character,  since  this  has  been  done  so 
ably  that  nothing  can  easily  be  added,  with  good  effect.  I 
shall  therefore  insert  Dr.  Whitehead's  own  summary,  with 
notices  by  others  who  were  personally  acquainted  with  him. 
Taken  together  they  transmit  an  interesting  and  instructive 
picture  of  the  founder  of  Methodism,  to  futnre  ages. 

Dr.  Whitehead  observes  : — 

"  Some  persons  have  aflfected  to  insinuate  that  Mr.  Wesley 
was  a  man  of  slender  capacity  ;  but  certainly  with  great  io- 
justice.  His  apprehension  was  clear,  his  penetration  quick, 
and  his  judgment  discriminative  and  sound;  of  which  his 
controversial  writings,  and  his  celebrity  in  the  stations  he 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


297 


licld  at  Oxford,  -when  young,  are  sufficient  proofs.  In 
poverning  a  large  body  of  preachers  and  people,  of  various 
!.;ibits,  interests,  and  principles,  with  astonishing  calmness 
and  regularity  for  many  years,  he  showed  a  strong  and 
capacious  mind,  that  could  comprehend  and  combine  to- 
gctlier  a  vast  variety  of  circumstances,  and  direct  their 
influence  through  the  great  body  lie  governed.  As  a  scho- 
lar, he  certainly  held  a  conspicuous  rank.  He  was  a  critic 
ill  the  Latin  and  Greek  classics;  and  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  Hebrew,  and  with  several  modern  tongues.  But 
the  Greek  was  his  favourite  language,  in  which  his  know- 
ledge was  extensive  and  accurate.  At  college,  he  had 
studied  Euclid,  Keil,  Sir  Isaac  Newton's  Optics,  &c. ;  but  he 
never  entered  far  into  the  more  abstruse  parts,  or  the  higher 
branches,  of  the  mathematics  ;  finding  they  would  fascinate 
his  mind,  absorb  his  attention,  and  divert  him  from  the  pur- 
suit of  the  more  important  objects  of  his  own  profession. 

"  Natural  history  was  a  field  in  which  he  walked  at  every 
opportunity,  and  contemplated  with  infinite  pleasur  the  wis- 
dom, the  power,  and  the  goodness  of  God,  in  the  structure 
of  natural  bodies,  and  in  the  various  instincts  and  habits  of 
the  animal  creation.  But  he  was  obliged  to  view  these 
wonderful  works  of  God,  in  the  labours  and  records  of 
others  ;  his  various  and  continual  employments  of  a  higher 
nature,  not  permitting  him  to  make  experiments  and  obser- 
vations for  himself* 

"  As  a  writer,  Mr.  Wesley  certainly  possessed  talents, 
sufficient  to  procure  him  considerable  reputation.  But  he 
did  not  write  for  fame :  his  object  was  chiefly  to  instruct 
and  benefit  that  numerous  class  of  people  who  have  little 
learning,  little  money,  and  but  little  time  to  spare  for  read- 
ing. In  all  his  writings  he  constantly  kept  these  circum- 
stances in  view.  Content  with  doing  good,  he  used  no 
trappings  merely  to  please,  or  to  gain  applause.  The  dis- 
tinguishing character  of  his  style  is  brevity  and  perspicuity. 
He  never  lost  sight  of  the  rule  which  Horace  gives, 

'  Est  brevilate  opus,  ut  currat  sententia,  neu  se 
Impediat  xcrhis  lassas  onerantibus  aures.' 

*  He,  however,  employe*!  much  leisure  time  wliilst  at  college  in  the 
study  of  anatomy  and  medicine. 


298 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


'  Concise  your  diction,  let  your  sense  be  clear, 
Nor  with  a  weight  of  words  fatigue  the  ear.' 

In  all  his  writings  his  words  are  well  chosen,  purc,prope7'  to 
his  subject,  and  precise  in  their  meaning.  His  sentences 
commonly  have  the  attributes  of  clearness,  unity,  and 
strength  :  and  whenever  he  took  time,  and  gave  the  neces- 
sary attention  to  his  subject,  both  his  manner  of  treating  it, 
and  his  style,  show  the  hand  of  a  master.  * 

"  The  following  is  a  just  character  to  Mr.  Wesley  as  a 
preacher  :  '  His  attitude  in  the  pulpit  was  graceful  and  easy; 
his  action  calm  and  natural,  yet  pleasing  and  expressive : 
his  voice  not  loud,  but  clear  and  manly  :  his  style  neat,  sim- 
ple, and  perspicuous ;  and  admirably  adapted  to  the  capacity 
of  his  hearers.  His  discourses,  in  point  of  composition, 
were  extremely  different  on  different  occasions.  When  he 
gave  himself  sufficient  time  for  preparation,  he  succeeded ; 
but  when  he  did  not,  he  frequently  failed.'  It  was  indeed 
manifest  to  his  friends  for  many  years  before  he  died,  that 
his  employments  were  too  many,  and  that  he  preached  too 
often,  to  appear  with  the  same  advantage  at  all  times  in  the 
pulpit.  His  sermons  were  always  short:  he  was  seldom 
more  than  half  an  hour  in  delivering  a  discourse,  sometimes 
not  so  long.  His  subjects  were  judiciously  chosen:  instruc- 
tive and  interesting  to  the  audience,  and  well  adapted  to  gain 
attention  and  warm  tire  heart. 

"  The  labours  of  Mr.  Wesley  in  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
for  fifty  years  together,  were  without  precedent.  During 
this  period,  he  travelled  about  four  thousand  five  hundred 
miles  every  year,  one  year  with  another,  chiefly  on  horse- 
back. It  had  been  impossible  for  him  to  accomplish  this  al- 
most incredible  degree  of  exertion,  without  great  punctuality 
and  care  in  the  management  of  his  time.  He  had  stated 
hours  for  every  purpose :  and  his  only  relaxation  was  a 
change  of  employment.  His  rules  were  like  the  laws  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians,  absolute  and  irrevocable.  He  had  a  pe- 
culiar pleasure  in  reading  and  study,  and  every  literary  man 
knows  how  apt  this  passion  is  to  make  him  encroach  ou  the 

*  His  treatise  on  Original  Sin ;  his  appeals,  and  some  of  his  Ser- 
mons, are  instances  of  finished  and  careful  composition ;  and  are 
equally  to  be  admired  for  clearness  of  method,  and  the  force  of  many 
passages  which  are  truly  eloquent. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


299 


iimc  which  ought  to  be  employed  in  other  duties:  he  had  a 
liiuh  relish  for  coaversatioii,  especially  with  pious,  learned, 
ami  sensible  men:  but  wliencverthe  hour  came  when  he 
\\  as  to  set  out  on  a  journey,  lie  instantly  quitted  the  compa- 
ny with  wliich  he  might  be  engaged,  without  any  apparent 
nhictance.  For  fiftj^-two  years,  or  upwards,  he  generally 
delivered  two,  frequently  three  or  four,  sermons  in  a  day. 
But  calculating  only  two  sermons  a  daj',  and  allowing,  as  a 
A(  riter  of  his  life  has  done,  fifty  annually  for  extraordinary 
occasions,  the  whole  number  of  sermons  he  preached  during 
tliis  period  will  be  forty  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty. 
To  these  must  be  added,  an  infinite  number  of  exhortations 
to  the  societies  after  preaching,  and  in  other  occasional  meet- 
ings at  which  he  assisted. 

"In  social  life,  Mr.  Wesley  was  lively  and  conversational. 
He  had  the  talent  of  making  himself  exceedingly  agreeable 
in  company  :  and  having  been  much  accustomed  to  society, 
the  rules  of  good  breeding  were  habitual  to  him.  The  ab- 
straction of  a  scholar  did  not  appear  in  his  behaviour  ;  but 
lie  was  attentive  and  polite.  He  spoke  a  good  deal  where 
lie  saw  it  was  expected,  which  was  almost  always  the  case 
wherever  he  visited.  Having  seen  much  of  the  world  in 
his  travels,  and  read  more,  his  mind  was  stored  with  an  in- 
finite number  of  anecdotes  and  observations ;  and  the  nian- 
wr  in  which  he  related  them  was  no  inconsiderable  addition 
to  the  entertainment  and  instruction  they  aflbrded.  It  was 
impossible  to  be  long  in  his  company,  either  in  public  or 
private,  without  partaking  of  his  placid  cheerfulness,  which 
A\  as  not  abated  by  the  infirmities  of  age,  or  the  approach  of 
death  ;  but  was  as  conspicuous  at  fourscore  and  seven,  as  at 
line  and  twenty. 

•  A  remarkable  feature  in  Mr.  Wesley's  character,  was  his 
])lapability.  Having  an  active,  penetrating  mind,  his  temper 
^\  as  naturally  quick,  and  even  tending  to  sharpness.  The 
uilhience  of  religion,  and  the  constant  habit  of  patient  think- 
ing, had,  in  a  great  measure,  corrected  this  disposition.  In 
general  he  preserved  an  air  of  sedateuess  and  tranquillity, 
which  formed  a  striking  contrast  to  the  liveliness  conspicu- 
ous in  all  his  actions.  Persecution,  abuse,  and  injury,  he 
bore  from  strangers,  not  only  without  anger,  but  without 
any  apparent  amotion ;  and  w-hat  he  said  of  himself  was 


300 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


strictly  true,  that  he  had  a  great  facility  in  forgiving  in- 
juries. Submission,  on  the  part  of  the  offender,  present- 
ly disarmed  his  resentment,  and  he  would  treat  him  with 
great  kindness  and  cordiality.  No  man  was  ever  more 
free  from  jealousy  or  suspicion  than  Mr.  Wesley,  or  laid 
himself  more  open  to  the  impositions  of  others.  Though 
his  confidence  was  often  abused,  and  circumstances  some- 
times took  place  which  would  have  made  almost  any 
other  man  suspicious,  yet  he  suspected  no  one ;  nor  was 
it  easy  to  convince  him  that  any  one  had  intentionally 
deceived  him;  and  when  facts  had  demonstrated  that  this 
was  actually  the  case,  he  would  allow  no  more  than  that 
it  was  so  in  that  single  instance.  If  the  person  acknow- 
ledged his  fault,  he  believed  him  sincere,  and  would  trust 
him  again.  If  we  view  this  temper  of  his  mind  in  connex- 
ion with  the  circumstance  that  his  most  private  papers  lay 
open  to  the  inspection  of  those  constantly  about  him,  it 
will  afford  as  strong  a  proof  as  can  well  be  given,  of  the 
integrity  of  his  own  mind ;  and  that  he  was  at  the  far- 
thest distance  from  any  intention  to  deceive,  or  impose 
upon  others. 

"  The  temperance  of  Mr.  Wesley  was  extraordinary. 
When  at  college  he  carried  tliis  so  far,  that  his  friends 
thought  him  blamable.  But  he  never  imposed  upon  others 
the  same  degree  of  rigour  he  exercised  upon  himself  He 
only  said,  I  must  be  the  best  judge  of  what  is  hurtful  or 
beneficial  to  me.  Among  other  things,  he  was  remarka- 
ble for  moderation  in  sleep ;  and  his  notion  of  it  cannot 
be  better  explained,  than  in  his  own  words.  Healthy 
men,  says  he,  '  require  above  six  hours'  sleep ;  healthy 
women,  a  little  above  seven,  in  four  and  twenty.  If  any 
one  desires  to  know  exactly  what  quantity  of  sleep  his  own 
constitution  requires,  he  may  very  easily  make  the  experi- 
ment, which  I  made  about  sixty  years  ago.  I  then  waked 
every  night  about  twelve  or  one,  and  lay  awake  for  some 
time.  I  readily  concluded,  that  this  arose  from  my  being 
in  bed  longer  than  nature  required.  To.be  satisfied,  I 
procured  an  alarum,  which  waked  me  the  next  morning 
at  seven,  (nearly  an  hour  earlier  than  I  rose  the  day  be- 
fore,) yet  I  lay  awake  again  at  night.  The  second  morn- 
ing I  rose  at  six ;  but  notwithstanding  this,  I  lay  awake 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


301 


tlie  second  night.  The  third  morning  I  rose  at  five ;  but 
nevertheless,  I  lay  awake  the  third  night.  The  fourth 
nioming  1  rose  at  four,  as  by  tlie  grace  of  God,  I  have 
done  ever  since :  and  I  lay  awake  no  more.  And  I  do 
not  now  lie  awake,  taking  the  year  round,  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  together  in  a  month.  By  the  same  experiment, 
rising  earlier  and  earlier  every  morning,  may  any  one 
find  how  much  sleep  he  wants.' 

'•  It  must  however  be  observed,  that,  for  many  years 
before  his  death,  Mr.  'NVeslcy  slept  more  or  less  during 
the  day ;  and  his  great  readiness  to  fall  asleep  at  any  time 
when  fatigued,  was  a  considerable  means  of  keeping  up 
his  strength,  and  enabling  him  to  go  through  so  much 
labour.  He  never  could  endure  to  sleep  on  a  soft  bed. 
Even  in  the  latter  part  of  life,  when  the  infirmities  of  age 
pressed  upon  him,  his  whole  conduct  was  at  the  greatest 
distance  from  softness  or  eficminacy. 

"  A  writer  of  Mr.  Wesley's  life,  from  whom  some  ob- 
servations respecting  his  general  character  have  already 
lieen  taken,  has  farther  observed,  perhaps  the  most  chari- 
table man  in  England,  was  Mr.  AVesley.  His  liberality 
to  the  poor,  knew  no  bounds  but  an  empty  pocket.  He 
gave  away,  not  merely  a  certain  part  of  his  income,  but 
all  that  he  had:  his  own  wants  provided  for,  he  devoted 
all  the  rest  to  the  necessities  of  others.  He  entered  upon 
tliis  good  work  at  a  very  early  period.  We  are  told,  that, 
'when  lie  had  thirty  pounds  a  year,  he  lived  on  twenty- 
eight,  and  gave  away  forty  shillings.  The  next  year,  re- 
ceiving sixty  pounds,  he  still  lived  on  twenty-eight,  and 
gave  away  two  and  thirty.  The  third  year  he  received 
ninety  pounds,  and  gave  away  sixty-two.  The  fourth  year 
he  received  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds.  Still  he 
lived  on  twenty-eight,  and  gave  to  the  poor  ninctj^-two.' 
In  this  ratio  he  proceeded  during  the  rest  of  his  life  ;  and, 
in  the  course  of  fifty  years,  it  has  been  supposed,  he  gave 
away  between  twenty  and  thirty  thousand  pounds  ;*  a 
great  part  of  which,  most  other  men  would  have  put  out 
at  interest,  upon  gnod  security. 

"In  the  distribution  of  his  money,  Mr.  Wesley  was 

*  Money  chiefly  arising  from  the  constant  and  large  sale  of  his 
writinf^,  and  the  works  he  abridged, 
26 

I 


S02 


LIPE  OF  WESLEY. 


as  disinterested  as  he  was  charitable.  He  had  no  regard 
to  family  connexions,  nor  even  to  the  wants  of  the 
preachers  who  laboured  with  him,  in  preference  to 
strangers.  He  knew  that  these  had  some  friends ;  and  he 
thought  that  the  poor  destitute  stranger  might  have  none, 
and  therefore  had  the  first  claim  on  his  liberality.  When 
a  trifling  legacy  has  been  paid  him,  he  has  been  known  to 
dispose  of  it  in  some  charitable  way  before  he  slept,  that 
it  nnght  not  remain  his  own  property  for  one  night 
He  often  declared  that  his  own  hands  should  be  his  ex- 
ecutors ;  and  though  he  gained  all  he  could  by  his  publi- 
cations, and  saved  all  he  could,  not  wasting  so  much  as 
a  sheet  of  paper ;  yet,  by  giving  all  he  could,  he  was 
preserved  from  laying  up  treasures  itj)on  earth.  He  had 
said  in  print,  that,  if  he  died  worth  more  than  ten  pounds, 
independent  of  his  books,  and  the  arrears  of  his  fellow 
ship,  which  he  then  held,  he  would  give  the  world  leave 
to  call  him  'a  thief  and  a  robber.'  This  declaration, 
made  in  the  integrity  of  his  heart,  and  the  height  of  his 
zeal,  laid  him  under  some  inconveniences  afterwards, 
from  circumstances  which  he  could  not  at  that  time 
foresee.  Yet  in  this,  as  all  his  friends  expected,  he 
literally  kept  his  word,  as  far  as  human  foresight  could 
reach.  His  chaise  and  horse?,  his  clothes,  and  a  few 
trifles  of  that  kind,  were  all,  his  books  excepted,  that  he 
left  at  his  death.  Whatever  might  be  the  value  of  his 
books,  this  altered  not  the  case,  as  they  were  placed  in 
the  hands  of  trustees,  and  the  profits  arising  from  the 
sale  of  them  were  to  be  applied  to  the  use  and  benefit  of 
the  conference  for  public  purposes ;  reserving  only  a 
few  legacies  and  a  rent-charge  of  eighty-five  pounds  a 
year  to  be  paid  to  his  brother's  widow,  which  was  in  fact 
a  debt,  in  consideration  for  the  copy-right  of  his  brother's 
hynnis. 

"  Among  the  other  excellencies  of  Mr.  Wesley,  his  mo- 
deration in  controversy  deserves  to  be  noticed.  Writers 
of  controversy  loo  often  forget,  that  their  own  character  is 
intimately  connected  with  the  manner  in  which  they  treat 
others ;  and  if  they  have  no  regard  for  their  opponents, 
they  ought  to  have  some  respect  for  themselves.  When 
a  writer  becomes  personal  and  abusive,  it  affords  a  fair 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


303 


presumption  against  his  arguments,  and  tends  to  put  his 
readers  on  their  guard.  Most  of  Mr.  Wesley's  opponents 
were  of  this  description  ;  their  railing  was  much  more 
violent  than  tlieir  reasons  were  cogent.  Mr.  Wesley  kept 
his  temper,  and  wrote  like  a  Christian,  a  gentleman,  and 
a  scholar.  He  might  have  taken  the  words  of  the  excel- 
lent Hooker,  as  a  motto  to  his  polemical  tracts,  '  To 
your  railing  I  say  nothing  ;  for  your  reasons  take  what 
follows.'  He  admired  the  temper  in  which  Mr.  Law 
wrote  controversy  :  only  in  some  instances  Mr.  Law 
shows  a  contempt  for  his  opponent,  which  Mr.  Wesley 
thought  highly  improper." 

To  these  remarks  of  Dr.  Wliiteliead  may  be  added  two 
or  three  sketches  of  Mr.  Wesley's  character  drawn  up  by 
different  persons,  and  printed  soon  after  his  death.  The 
first  is  anonymous  : — 

"  Now  that  Mr.  John  Wesley  has  finished  his  course 
upon  earth,  I  may  be  allowed  to  estimate  his  character, 
and  the  loss  the  world  has  sustained  by  his  death.  Upon 
a  fair  account,  it  appears  to  be  such,  as  not  only  annihilates 
all  the  reproaches  that  have  been  cast  upon  him  ;  but  such 
as  does  honour  to  mankind,  at  the  same  time  that  it  re- 
proaches them.  His  natural  and  acquired  abilities  were 
linih  of  the  highest  rank.  His  apprehension  was  lively 
and  distinct ;  his  learning  extensive.  His  judgment, 
tliough  not  infallible,  was,  in  most  cases,  excellent.  His 
mind  was  steadfast  and  resolved.  His  elocution  was  ready 
and  clear,  graceful  and  easy,  accurate  and  unaffected.  As 
a  writer,  his  style,  though  unstudied,  and  flowing  Avith 
natural  ease,  yet  for  accuracy  and  perspicuity  was  such 
as  may  vie  with  the  best  writers  in  the  English  language. 
Tliough  his  temper  was  naturally  warm,  his  manners  were 
uciitlc,  simple,  and  uniform.  Never  were  such  happy  ta- 
il nts  better  seconded  by  an  unrelenting  perseverance  in 
those  courses  which  liis  singular  endowments,  and  his 
zealous  love  to  the  interests  of  mankind,  marked  out  for 
him.  His  constitution  was  excellent :  and  never  was  a 
constitution  less  abused,  less  spared,  or  more  excellently 
applied,  in  an  exact  subservience  to  the  faculties  of  his 
mind.  His  labours  and^  studies  were  wonderful.  The 
latter  were  not  confined  to  theology  only,  but  extended 


304 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


to  every  subject  that  tended  eitlier  to  the  improvement  or 
the  rational  entertainment  of  the  mind.  If  we  consider 
his  reading  by  itself,  his  writings  and  his  other  labours 
by  themselves,  any  one  of  them  will  appear  sufficient  to 
have  kept  a  person  of  ordinary  application  busy  during 
his  whole  life.  In  short,  the  transactions  of  his  life 
could  never  have  been  performed,  without  the  utmost 
exertion  of  two  qualities,  which  depended,  not  upon  his 
capacity,  but  on  the  uniform  steadfastness  of  his  resolu- 
tion. These  were  inflexible  temperance,  and  unexam- 
pled economy  of  time.  In  these  he  was  a  pattern  to  the 
age  he  lived  in ;  and  an  example,  to  what  a  surprising 
extent  a  man  may  render  himself  useful  in  his  generation, 
by  temperance  and  punctuality.  His  friends  and  follow- 
ers have  no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  the  name  of  Method- 
ist, which  he  has  entailed  upon  them :  as,  for  an  interrupt- 
ed course  of  years,  he  has  given  the  world  an  instance  of 
the  possibility  of  living  without  M'asting  a  single  hour ; 
and  of  the  advantage  of  a  regular  distribution  of  time,  in 
discharging  the  important  duties  and  purposes  of  life. 
Few  ages  have  more  needed  such  a  public  testimony  to 
the  value  of  time ;  and  perliaps  none  have  had  a  more 
conspicuous  example  of  the  perfection  to  which  the  im- 
provement of  it  may  be  carried. 

"As  a  minister,  his  labours  were  unparalleled,  and 
such  as  nothing  could  have  supported  him  under  but  the 
warmest  zeal  for  the  doctrine  he  taught,  and  for  the  eter- 
nal interests  of  mankind.  He  studied  to  be  gentle,  yet 
vigilant  and  faithful  towards  all.  He  possessed  himself 
in  patience,  and  preserved  himself  unprovoked,  nay,  even 
unruffled,  in  the  midst  of  persecution,  reproach,  and  all 
manner  of  abuse  both  of  his  person  and  name.  But  let 
his  own  works  praise  him.  He  now  enjoys  the  fruits  of 
his  labours,  and  that  praise  which  he  sought,  not  of  men, 
but  of  God. 

"  To  finish  the  portrait.  Examine  the  general  tenor 
of  his  life,  and  it  will  be  found  self-evidently  inconsistent 
with  his  being  a  slave  to  any  one  passion  or  pursuit,  that 
can  fix  a  blemish  on  his  cliaracter.  Of  what  use  were 
the  accumulation  of  wealth  to  him,  who,  through  his 
whole  course,  never  allowed  himself  to  taste  the  repose 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


305 


of  indolence,  or  even  of  the  common  indulgence  in  the 
use  of  the  necessaries  of  life  1  Free  from  tlie  partiality 
of  any  party,  the  sketcher  of  tliis  excellent  character, 
with  a  friendly  tear,  pays  it  as  a  just  tribute  to  the  memo- 
ry of  so  great  and  good  a  man,  who,  when  alive  was  his 
friend." 

Of  Mr.  Wesley,  Mr.  Alexander  Knox  says : — 
"  Very  lately,  I  had  an  opportunity,  for  some  days 
together,  of  observing  Mr.  Wesley  with  attention.  I 
endeavoured  to  consider  him,  not  so  much  with  the  eye 
of  a  friend,  as  with  the  impartiality  of  a  philosopher  ;  and 
I  must  declare,  every  hour  1  spent  in  his  company  afforded 
me  fresli  reasons  for  esteem  and  veneration.  So  fine  an 
ola  man  I  never  saw.  The  happiness  of  his  mind  beamed 
forth  in  his  countenance.  E\ery  look  showed  how  fully 
he  enjoyed  '  the  gay  remembrance  of  a  life  well  spent 
and  wlierever  he  went,  he  diffused  a  portion  of  his  oAvn 
felicit}'.  Easy  and  affable  in  his  demeanour,  he  accom- 
modated himself  to  every  sort  of  company,  and  showed 
how  happily  the  most  finished  courtesy  may  be  blended 
with  the  most  perfect  piety.  In  his  conversation,  we  might 
be  at  a  loss  whether  to  admire  most,  his  fine  classical  taste, 
his  extensive  knowledge  of  men  and  tilings,  or  his  over 
flowing  goodness  of  heart.  While  the  grave  and  serious 
were  charmed  with  his  wisdom,  his  sportive  sallies  of  in 
nocent  mirth  delighted  even  the  young  and  thoughtless  ; 
and  both  saw,  in  his  uninterrupted  cheerfulness,  the  excel- 
lency of  true  religion.  No  cynical  remarks  on  the  levity 
of  youth  imbittered  his  discourse ;  no  applausive  retrospect 
to  past  times  marked  his  present  discontent.  In  him, 
even  old  age  appeared  delightful,  like  an  evening  Avithout  a 
cloud  ;  and  it  was  impossible  to  observe  him,  m  ithout 
wishing  fervently,  '  May  my  latter  end  be  like  his  !' 

"  But  I  find  myself  unequal  to  the  task  of  delineating 
such  a  character.  What  I  have  said  may  to  some  appear 
as  panegyric ;  but  there  are  numbers,  and  those  of  taste 
and  discernment  loo,  who  can  bear  witness  to  the  truth, 
though  by  no  means  to  the  perfectness,  of  the  sketch  1 
have  attempted.  With  such  I  have  been  frequently  in 
his  company ;  and  every  one  of  them,  I  am  persuaded, 
would  subscribe  to  all  I  have  said.  For  my  own  part, 
26* 


306 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


I  never  was  so  happy  as  while  with  him,  and  scarcely 
ever  felt  more  poignant  regret  than  at  parting  from 
him  ;  for,  well  I  knew  '  I  ne'er  should  look  upon  his 
like  again.'  " 

The  following  account  of  Mr.  Wesley  appeared  soon 
after  his  death  in  a  very  respectable  publication  ;  and 
was  afterwards  inserted  in  Woodfall's  Diary,  London, 
June  17,  1791  :— 

"  His  indefatigable  zeal  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty 
has  been  long  witnessed  by  tlie  world  ;  but,  as  mankind 
are  not  always  inclined  to  put  a  generous  construction  on 
the  exertions  of  singular  talents,  his  motives  were  imputed 
to  the  love  of  popularity,  ambition,  and  lucre.  It  now 
appears  that  he  was  actuated  by  a  disinterested  regard  to 
the  immortal  interests  of  mankind.  He  laboured,  and 
studied,  and  preached,  and  wrote,  to  propagate  what  he 
believed  to  be  the  gospel  of  Christ.  The  intervals  of 
these  engagements  were  employed  in  governing  and  regu- 
lating I  he  (•()n(MTns  of  his  numerous  societies;  assisting 
the  u''i  (  ssii  ii solving  the  difficulties,  and  soothing  the 
afflictions  (if  his  liearers.  He  observed  so  rigid  a  tem^ 
perance,  and  allowed  himself  so  little  repose,  that  he 
seemed  to  be  above  the  infirmities  of  nature,  and  to  act 
independent  of  the  eartlsly  tenement  he  occupied.  The 
recital  of  the  occurrences  of  every  day  of  his  life  would 
be  the  greatest  encomium. 

"  Had  he  loved  wealth,  he  might  have  accumulated  it 
without  bounds.  Had  he  been  fond  of  power,  his  influ- 
ence would  have  been  worth  courting  by  any  party.  I 
do  not  say  he  was  witliout  ambition  ;  he  had  that  which 
Chiistianily  need  not  blush  at,  and  which  virtue  is  proud 
to  confess.  I  do  not  mean  that  which  is  gratified  by 
splendour  and  large  possessions;  but  that  which  commands 
the  hearts  and  affections,  the  homage  and  gratitude,  of 
thousands.  For  him  they  felt  sentiments  of  veneration, 
only  inferior  to  those  which  they  paid  to  Heaven  :  to  him. 
they  looked  as  their  father,  their  benefactor,  their  guide 
to  glory  and  immortality :  for  him  they  fell  prostrate 
before  God,  with  prayers  and  tears,  to  spare  his  doom, 
and  prolong  his  slay.  Such  a  recompense  as  this  is  suf- 
ficient to  repay  the  toils  of  the  longest  life.    Short  of  this, 


UFE  OF  WESLEY. 


307 


greatness  is  contemptible  impotence.  Before  this,  lofty 
prelates  bow,  and  princes  hide  their  diminished  heads. 

"  His  zeal  was  not  a  transient  blaze,  but  a  steady  and 
constant  flame.  The  ardour  of  his  spirit  was  neither 
damped  by  difficulty,  nor  subdued  b}^  age.  This  was 
ascribed  by  himself  to  the  power  of  divine  grace  ;  by  the 
world,  to  enthusiasm.  Be  it  what  it  will,  it  is  what  philo- 
sophers must  envy,  and  infidels  respect ;  it  is  that  which 
gives  energy  to  the  soul,  and  without  which  there  can  be 
no  greatness  or  heroism. 

"  Why  should  we  condemn  that  in  religion,  which  we 
applaud  in  every  other  profession  and  pursuit  1  He  had 
tt  vigour  and  elevation  of  mind,  which  notliing  but  the 
belief  of  the  divine  favour  and  presence  could  inspire. 
This  threw  a  lustre  round  his  infirmities,  changed  his  bed 
of  sickness  into  a  triumphal  car,  and  made  his  exit  resem- 
ble an  apotheosis  rather  than  a  dissolution. 

"  He  was  qualified  to  excel  m  every  branch  of  litera- 
ture :  he  was  well  versed  in  the  learned  tongues,  in  meta- 
physics, in  oratory,  in  logic,  in  criticism,  and  every 
requisite  of  a  Christian  minister.  His  style  was  nervous, 
clear,  and  manly  ;  his  preaching  was  pathetic  and  persua- 
sive ;  his  Journals  are  artless  and  interesting  ;  and  his 
compositions  and  compilations  to  promote  knowledge  and 
piety,  were  almost  innumerable. 

"  I  do  not  say  he  was  without  faults,  or  above  mistakes ; 
but  they  were  lost  in  the  multitude  of  his  excellencies  and 
virtues. 

"  To  gain  the  admiration  of  an  ignorant  and  super- 
stitious age,  requires  only  a  little  artifice  and  address  ;  to 
stand  the  test  of  these  times,  when  all  pretensions  to  sanc- 
tity are  stigmatized  as  hypocrisy,  is  a  proof  of  genuine 
piety  and  real  usefulness.  His  great  object  was,  to 
revive  the  obsolete  doctrines  and  extinguished  spirit  of 
the  church  of  England ;  and  they,  who  are  its  friends, 
cannot  be  his  enemies.  Yet  for  this  he  was  treated  as  a 
fanatic  and  impostor,  and  exposed  to  every  species  of 
slander  and  persecution.  Even  bishops  and  dignitaries 
entered  the  lists  against  him  ;  but  he  never  declined  the 
combat,  and  generally  proved  victorious.  He  appealed 
to  the  homilies,  the  articles,  and  the  Scriptures,  as  vouch' 


308 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


eis  for  his  doctrine  ;  and  they  who  could  not  decide  upon 
the  merits  of  the  controversy,  were  witnesses  of  the  effects 
of  his  labours ;  and  they  judged  of  the  tree  by  its  fruit. 
It  is  true,  he  did  not  succeed  nnicli  in  the  higher  walks  ol 
life  ;  but  tliat  impeached  his  cause  no  more,  than  it  did 
that  of  the  first  planters  of  the-  gospel.  However,  if  he 
had  been  capable  of  assuming  vanity  on  that  score,  he 
might  have  ranked  among  his  friends  some  persons  of 
the  first  distinction,  who  would  have  done  honour  to  any 
party.  After  surviving  almost  all  his  adversaries,  and 
acquiring  respect  among  those  who  were  the  most  distant 
from  his  principles,  he  lived  to  see  the  plant  he  had  reared, 
spreading  its  branches  far  and  wide,  and  inviting  not 
only  these  kingdoms,  but  the  Western  world,  to  repose 
under  its  shade.  No  sect,  since  the  first  ages  of  Chris- 
tianity, could  boast  a  founder  of  such  extensive  talents 
and  endowments.  If  he  had  been  a  candidate  for  literary 
fame,  he  might  have  succeeded  to  his  utmost  wishes ;  but 
he  sought  not  the  praise  of  man  ;  he  regarded  learning 
only  as  the  instrument  of  usefulness.  The  great  purpose 
of  his  life  was  doing  good.  For  this  he  relinquished  all 
honour  and  preferment ;  to  this  he  dedicated  all  his  pow- 
ers of  body  and  mind  ;  at  all  times  and  in  all  places,  in 
season  and  out  of  season,  by  gentleness,  by  terror,  by 
argument,  by  persuasion,  by  reason,  by  interest,  by  every 
motive  and  every  inducement,  he  strove,  with  unwearied 
assiduity,  to  turn  men  from  the  error  of  their  ways,  and 
awaken  them  to  virtue  and  religion.  To  the  bed  of  sick- 
ness, or  the  couch  of  prosperity  ;  in  the  prison,  the  hos- 
pital, the  house  of  mourning,  or  the  house  of  feasting, 
wherever  there  was  a  friend  to  serve,  or  a  soul  to  save, 
he  readily  repaired  ;  to  administer  assistance  or  advice, 
reproof  or  consolation.  He  thought  no  otfice  too  humili- 
ating, no  condescension  too  low,  no  undertaking  too 
arduous,  to  reclaim  the  meanest  of  God's  offspring.  The 
souls  of  all  men  were  equally  precious  in  his  sight,  and 
the  value  of  an  immortal  creature  beyond  all  estimation. 
He  penetrated  the  abodes  of  wretchedness  and  ignorance, 
to  rescue  the  profligate  from  perdition;  and  he  commu- 
nicated the  light  of  life  to  those  who  sat  in  darkness  and 
the  shadow  of  death.  He  changed  tiie  outcasts  of  society 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


309 


Into  useful  members  ;  civilized  even  savages,  and  filled 
those  lips  with  prayer  and  praise  that  had  been  accus- 
tomed only  to  oaths  and  imprecations.  But  as  the 
strongest  religious  impressions  are  apt  to  become  languid, 
without  discipline  and  practice,  he  divided  his  people  into 
classes  and  bands,  according  to  their  attainments.  He  ap- 
pointed frequent  meetings  for  prayer  and  conversation, 
where  they  gave  an  account  of  tlieir  experience,  their 
hopes  and  fears,  their  joys  and  troubles  ;  by  which  means 
they  were  united  to  each  other,  and  to  their  common  pro- 
fession. They  became  sentinels  upon  each  other's  con- 
duct, and  securities  for  each  other's  character.  Thus  the 
seeds  he  sowed  sprang  up  and  flourished,  bearing  the  rich 
fruits  of  every  grace  and  virtue.  Thus  he  governed  and 
preserved  his  numerous  societies,  watching  their  improve- 
ment with  a  paternal  care,  and  encouraging  them  to  be 
faithful  to  the  end. 

"  But  I  will  not  attempt  to  draw  his  full  character,  nor 
to  estimate  the  extent  of  his  labours  and  services.  They 
wiU  be  best  known  when  he  shall  deliver  up  his  commis- 
sion into  the  hands  of  his  great  Master." 

The  following  is  a  description  of  Mr.  Wesley's  per- 
son : — 

"  The  figure  of  Mr.  Wesley  was  remarkable.  His 
stature  was  low ;  his  habit  of  body,  in  every  period  of 
life,  the  reverse  of  corpulent,  and  expressive  of  strict 
temperance  and  continual  exercise  ;  and,  notwithstanding 
his  small  size,  his  step  was  firm,  his  appearance,  till 
within  a  few  years  of  his  death,  vigorous  and  muscular. 
His  face,  for  an  old  man,  was  one  of  tlie  finest  we  have 
seen.  A  clear,  smooth  forehead ;  an  aquiline  nose ;  an 
eye,  the  brightest  and  most  piercing  that  can  be  conceived ; 
and  a  freshness  of  complexion,  scarcely  ever  to  be  found 
at  his  years;  and,  impressive  of  the  most  perfect  health, 
conspired  to  render  him  a  venerable  and  interesting  figure. 
Few  have  seen  him  without  being  struck  with  his  appear- 
ance :  and  many,  who  had  been  greatly  prejudiced  against 
him,  have  been  known  to  change  their  opinion  tlie  mo- 
ment they  were  introduced  into  his  presence.  In  his 
countenance  and  demeanour,  there  was  a  cheerfulness 
mingled  with  gravity ;  a  sprightlincss,  which  was  the 


310 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


natural  result  of  an  unusual  flow  of  spirits,  and  yet  was 
accompanied  with  every  mark  of  the  most  serene  tran- 
quillity. His  aspect,  particularly  in  profile,  had  a  strong 
character  of  acuteness  and  penetration. 

"  In  dress,  he  was  a  pattern  of  neatness  and  simplicity: 
a  narrow  plaited  stock ;  a  coat,  witli  a  small  upright 
collar  ;  no  buckles  at  his  knees ;  no  silk  or  velvet  in  any 
part  of  liis  apparel ;  and  a  head  as  white  as  snow,  gave 
an  idea  of  something  primitive  and  apostolic ;  while  an 
air  of  neatness  and  cleanliness  was  diffused  over  his  whole 
person." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A  FEW  miscellaneous  topics  remain  to  be  noticed.  One 
of  the  chief  reasons  wliy  full  and  willing  justice  has  not 
been  always  done  to  the  labours  of  Mr.  Wesley,  has 
doubtless  arisen  from  the  facts,  that  whatever  his  views 
miglit  be,  he  raised  up  a  people,  who  in  his  life-time 
formed  a  religious  body  independent  of  the  church, 
whilst  yet  not  nominally  separated  from  it ;  and  that  since 
his  death,  althougli  that  separation  does  not  affect  all  the 
members,  yet  tlie  great  mass  of  the  societies,  witla  all  the 
prcaclK  rs,  are  as  completely  separated  from  tlie  establish- 
ment, as  any  body  of  professed  Dissenters.  That  a  strict 
cliurchman  should  consider  tliis  as  a  great  counterbalance 
to  the  good  effected  by  Methodism  is  very  natural, — and 
he  has  a  right  to  liis  opinions,  provided  he  holds  them  in 
charity.  Still,  however,  this  subject  is  so  frequently  dwelt 
upon  under  mistaken  and  imperfect  views,  that  it  demands 
a  few  additional  remarks. 

As  far  as  Mr.  Wesley's  character  is  concerned,  enough 
has  been  said  to  show  the  sincerity  with  which  he  disa- 
vowed all  intention  of  separating  from  the  church,  and 
of  making  his  people  separatists.  This,  certainly,  not- 
withstanding the  freedom  of  his  opinions  on  church 
government,  cannot  be  charged  upon  him  in  the  early 
period  of  Iris  career ;  and  although,  in  what  we  may  call 
the  second  period,  he  saw  so  strong  a  tendency  to  separa- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


311 


tion  that  his  fears  were  often  excited,  yet  he  may  surely 
be  allowed  still  to  have  proceeded  straight  forward,  with 
perfect  honesty  of  mind,  in  the  same  course,  with  more  of 
hope  on  this  subject,  than  of  fear.  Several  eminent  wri- 
ters of  the  church  party  have  thought,  that  even  modern 
Methodism,  though  existing  now  in  a  form  apparently  less 
friendly  to  union,  might  still  with  advantage  be  attached  to 
the  church,  and  have  seen  but  little  difficulty  in  the  pro 
ject.  Why  then  might  not  Mr.  Wesley,  even  after  his  socie- 
ties had  acquired  considerable  maturity,  still  hope  that  those 
simple  institutions  for  promoting  piety,  which  he  had  com- 
menced, might  have  been  recognized  by  the  church,  and 
hoped  that  the  spirit  of  religion,  revived  ah-eady  to  so 
great  an  extent,  might  still  fiu'ther  so  influence  the  members 
of  the  church  and  its  clergy,  as  to  dispose  them  to  view 
his  societies  with  more  cordiality  ?  He  took  care,  there- 
fore, and  all  his  principles  and  feelings  favoured  the  cau- 
tion, that  no  obstacles  should  be  placed  in  the  way  of  the 
closest  connexion  of  his  societies  with  the  establishment. 
Their  services  were  very  seldom  held  in  the  hours  of  her 
public  service  ;  the  Methodists  formed  in  many  parishes 
the  great  body  of  her  communicants  ;  thousands  of  them 
died  in  her  communion  ;  and  the  preachers  were  not 
ordinarily  permitted  to  administer  either  of  the  sacra- 
ments to  the  people  among  whom  they  laboured.  There 
can  be  no  charge,  therefore,  against  his  sincerity  at  this 
period,  any  more  than  in  the  first.  We  may  think  his 
hopes  to  have  been  without  any  foundation  ;  and  so  they 
proved  ;  and  the  idea  of  uniting  the  modern  Methodists 
to  the  church  is  a  very  visionary  one,  but  has  doubtless 
been  maintained  by  several  churchmen  with  great  sinceri- 
ty. Separation  from  the  church,  at  a  later  period  of  Mr. 
Wesley's  life,  was  certainly  anticipated.  That  must  be 
allowed  ;  but  an  enlightened  churchman  ought  to  think 
that  Mr.  Wesley's  conduct  was  still  worthy  of  praise,  not 
of  censure ;  for  when  a  partial  separation  was  in  reality 
foreseen  as  probable,  it  had  no  sanction  from  him,  and  he 
appeared  determined  so  to  employ  his  influence  to  his 
last  breath,  that  if  separation  did  ensue,  it  should  assume 
the  mildest-  form  possible,  and  be  deprived  of  all  feelings 
of  hostihty.    His  example,  the  spirit  of  his  writings, 


312 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


aud  his  advices,  all  tended  to  this ;  and  the  fact  is,  that, 
though  Methodism  now  stands  in  a  different  relation  to 
the  establishment  than  in  the  days  of  Mr.  Wesley,  dissent 
has  never  been  formally  professed  by  the  body,  and  for 
obvious  reasons.  The  first  is,  that  the  separation  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  society  from  the  church,  did  not  in  any- 
great  degree  result  from  the  principles  assumed  by  the  pro- 
fessed Dissenters,  and  which  are  usually  made  prominent  in 
their  discussions  on  the  subject  of  establishments  ;  the  se- 
cond, that  a  considerable  number  of  the  Methodists  actually 
continue  in  llie  communion  of  the  church  of  England  to 
this  day  ;  and  the  third,  that  to  leave  that  communion 
is  not,  in  any  sense,  a  condition  of  membership  with  us. 
All  the  services  of  the  church  and  her  sacraments  may 
be  observed  by  any  person  in  the  Wesleyan  societies  who 
chooses  it,  and  they  are  actually  observed  by  many. 

It  was  owing  to  the.se  circumstances  that  Methodism  did 
not  rush  down,  but  gently  glided,  into  a  state  of  partial 
division  from  the  church  ;  and  this,  by  neither  arousing 
party  passions,  nor  exciting  discussions  on  abstract  points 
of  church  polity,  has  left  the  general  feeling  of  affection 
to  all  that  is  excellent  in  the  establishment  unimpaired. 
No  intemperate  attacks  upon  it  have  been  ever  sanc- 
tioned ;  the  attendance  of  the  Methodists  upon  its  services 
Avas  never  discouraged  ;  and  it  is  surely  of  some  account 
that  a  vast  mass  of  people  throughout  the  country  have 
been  held  in  a  state  of  friendly  feeling  towards  a  clergy 
who  have  nevertheless  generally  treated  them  with  disdain 
and  contumely,  and  many  of  whom  have  zealously  em- 
ployed themselves  in  nursing  feelings  of  bigoted  dislike 
to  them  among  their  friends  and  neighbours.  Yet  after 
all,  the  prevalent  sentiment  of  the  Methodists,  as  a 
body,  towards  the  establishment  has  been  that  of  friend- 
ship. It  was  so,  when  the  church  was  in  a  lower  reli- 
gious state  than  it  is  at  present ;  and  its  more  recent 
religious  improvement  has  not  diminished  the  feeling.  I 
may  venture  to  say,  that  there  is  a  warmer  regard  towards 
the  church  among  the  body  of  the  Methodists  now,  than 
there  was  in  the  days  of  Mr.  Wesley  ;  although  there  were 
then  more  Methodists  than  at  present  who  professed  to  be 
of  her  communion.  We  have  no  respect  at  all  to  her  exclu- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


313 


si ve  claims  of  divine  right,  or  lier  three  orders  of  ministers ; 
and  yet  have  no  objection  to  her  episcopacy,  when  scrip- 
turally  understood,  or  her  services.  We  smile  at  the  claims 
she  sometimes  assumes  to  be  the  exclusive  instructress  of 
the  people,  in  a  country  where  the  statute  law  has  given 
them  the  right  to  be  taught  by  whom  they  please,  and  as 
explicitly  protects  dissent  as  conformity  ;  but  we  rejoice 
that  she  has  great  influence  with  the  mass  of  the  popu- 
lation, whenever  that  influence  is  used  for  the  promotion 
of  true  religion  and  good  morals.  We  wish  her  prosper- 
i'y  and  perpetuity,  as  we  wish  all  other  Christian  churches; 
and  the  more  so,  as  we  recognize  in  her  "  the  mother  of 
us  all,"  and  can  never  contemplate  without  the  deepest 
admiration  her  noble  army  of  confessors  and  martyrs,  and 
the  illustrious  train  of  her  divines,  whose  Avritings  have 
been,  and  continue  to  be,  the  light  of  Christendom.  If 
churchmen  think  this  feeling  of  any  importance,  let  them 
reciprocate  it ;  and  though  the  formal  union  of  which 
some  of  them  have  spoken  is  visionary,  a  still  stronger 
bond  of  friendship  might  be  established  ;  and  each  might 
thus  become  more  formidable  against  the  errors  and  evils 
of  the  times ; — for  a  people  who  have  nearly  half  as  many 
places  of  worship  in  the  kingdom  as  there  are  parish 
churches,  cannot  be  without  influence. 

Nor  have  the  true  causes  which  led  to  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  Methodists  from  the  church,  been  in 
general  rightly  stated.  Some  of  the  violent  adherents 
of  "  the  old  plan,"  as  it  was  called,  among  ourselves, 
have  ignorantly  or  in  a  party  spirit  attributed  this  to 
the  ambition  and  intrigues  of  the  preachers  ;  but  the 
true  causes  were — that  the  clergy,  generally,  did  not 
preach  the  doctrines  of  their  own  church  and  of  the 
reformation  ;  and  that  many  of  them  did  not  adorn  their 
profession  by  their  lives.  It  may  be  added,  that  in  no 
small  number  of  cases,  the  clergy  were  the  persecu- 
tors and  calumniators  of  the  Wesleyan  societies;  that 
tlie  sermons  in  the  churches  were  often  intemperate 
attacks  upon  their  characters  and  opinions ;  and  that 
the  Methodists  were  frequently  regarded  as  intruders 
at  the  table  of  the  Lord,  rather  than  as  welcome  com- 
municants. These  were  the  reasons  why,  long  before 
27 


314 


LIFE  or  WESLEY. 


Mr.  Wesley's  death,  a  great  number  of  his  societies  were 
anxious  to  have  tiie  sacraments  from  the  hands  of  their 
own  preachers,  under  whose  ministry  tliey  were  instructed 
and  edified,  in  whose  characters  they  had  confidence,  and 
with  respect  to  whom  they  knew,  that  if  any  one  dis- 
graced his  profession,  he  would  not  be  suflfered  long  to 
exercise  it. 

Such  were  the  true  causes  which  led  to  the  partial  se- 
paration of  the  Mclliodist  societies  from  the  communion 
of  the  church,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Wesley ;  and  this 
is  an  answer  to  the  objection,  repeated  a  thousand  times, 
that  we  have  departed  from  Mr.  Wesley's  principles.  The 
fact  is,  that  though  full  relief  to  tlie  consciences  of  the 
societies  in  general  was  refused  by  Mr.  Wesley's  authori- 
ty, yet  he  himself  was  obliged  to  allow  a  relaxation  from 
his  own  rule  in  London,  and  some  other  principal  towns, 
by  giving  the  Lord's  supper  himself,  or  obtaining  pious 
clergymen  to  administer  it  in  his  chapels.  After  his  death 
it  was  out  of  tlie  power  of  the  conference,  had  they  not  felt 
the  force  of  the  reasons  urged  upon  them,  to  prevent  the 
administration  of  the  sacraments  to  the  people  by  their 
own  preachers.  Yet  in  the  controversy  which  this  sub- 
ject excited,  speculative  principles  had  little  part.  The 
question  stood  on  plain  practical  grounds : — Shall  the 
societies  be  obliged,  from  their  conscientious  scruples,  to 
neglect  an  ordinance  of  God  ?  Or  shall  we  drive  them 
to  the  dissenters,  whose  peculiar  doctrines  they  do  not 
believe?  Or  .shall  we  under  certain  regulations  accede  to 
their  wishes?  So  far  from  Mr.  Wesley's  principles  and 
views  having  lost  their  influence  with  the  conference,  the 
sacraments  were  forced  upon  none,  and  recommended  to 
none.  The  old  principles  were  held  as  fast  as  higher  duties 
would  allow.  Many  indeed  of  the  people,  and  some  of 
the  preachers,  opposed  even  these  concessions;  but  the 
plan  which  was  adopted  to  meet  cases  of  conscientious 
scruple,  and  yet  to  avoid  encouraging  a  departure  from 
the  primitive  system,  leaving  every  individual  to  act  in 
this  respect  as  he  was  persuaded  in  his  own  mind,  and 
receive  the  Lord's  supper  at  church  or  at  chapel,  was  at 
length  by  both  parties  in  England  cordially  acquiesced  in, 
as  warranted  equally  by  principle  and  by  prudence.  As- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


315 


suredly  the  church  would  have  gained  nothing  by  a  differ- 
ent measure,  for  tlie  dissidents  would  have  been  compel- 
led to  join  other  communions.  Had  the  church  been 
provided  early  with  an  evangelical  and  a  holy  ministry, 
that  separation  would  not  have  taken  place ;  for  the  con- 
troversy between  the  church  and  the  dissenters  was  little 
known,  and  still  less  regarded  by  tlie  majority  of  the 
Methodist  societies  at  that  time  ;  and  the  case  is  not  great- 
ly altered  at  the  present  day.  The  clergy  had  lost  their 
hold  upon  the  people  generally,  through  neglect ;  and 
that  revival  of  the  spirit  of  trutli  and  holiness,  whicli  we 
are  now  so  happy  to  witness  among  them,  came  too  late 
to  prevent  the  results  just  stated. 

And  what  should  we  do  now,  if  we  were  disposed  to 
revert  to  the  state  of  things  in  Mr.  Wesley's  time "?  It 
is  true  we  should  more  rarely  meet  with  immoral  clergy- 
men ;  and  so  that  part  of  the  case  Avould  be  relieved  as 
a  matter  of  conscience.  But  would  the  Methodist  soci- 
eties meet  witli  friendly  clergj'men ;  with  men  who 
would  bear  willi  so  many  commimicants,  in  addition 
to  those  who  now  attend  their  churches  ?  And  if  they 
were  bi'ought  to  attend  the  services  of  their  parish 
churches,  would  they  be  disposed  long  to  hear  those  of 
the  clergy  who  never  pi-eacli  the  doctrines  of  the  articles 
of  their  own  church  ? — or  those  who  follow  some  great 
names  of  the  present  day,  and  neologise  as  far  as  decency 
permits  ? — or  those  of  the  evangelical  party,  whose  dis- 
courses are  strongly  impregnated  with  Calviwism  ? — or 
those  wlio  place  their  speculations  on  the  prophecies 
among  the  means  of  grace  and  salvation?  Our  people 
would  neither  hear  such  clergymen  themselves,  nor  could 
they  conscientiously  train  up  their  families  to  listen  to 
what  they  believe  great  error ;  and  so  if  we  were  to 
go  back,  as  we  have  been  exhorted,  to  Mr.  AVesley's  first 
plan,  the  majority  of  our  people  would,  as  then,  neither 
attend  church  nor  sacrament,  and  the  same,  process  would 
have  to  be  repeated  again,  with  probably  less  peaceful 
results. 

"  But  '  great  evil'  has  resulted  to  the  church  from 
Methodism."  This  has  been  often  said,  certainly  never 
substantiated ;  and  this  defence  of  the  hostile  feeling  of 


316 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


many  churchmen  towards  Mr.  Wesley  and  his  societies 
stands  upon  no  solid  ground.  On  the  contrary,  it  seems 
not  at  all  difficult  to  make  it  plainly  appear  that  great 
good  has  resulted  to  the  church,  as  well  as  to  the  nation. 
When  this  question  is  under  consideration  by  church- 
men, they  look  at  the  mere  fact  that  a  great  body  of 
people  have  been  raised  up,  as  they  say,  out  of  the 
church,  within  a  century  past,  excelling  in  number  almost, 
if  not  entirely,  the  whole  of  the  old  bodies  of  dissenters ; 
and  they  assume  that  if  the  Wesleys  and  Mr.  Whitefield 
had  never  appeared,  the  church  would  liave  been  in  as  im- 
proved a  state  as  now,  with  none  but  the  old  dissenters 
to  contend  witli.  There  is  great  fallacy  in  both  these 
views,  which  merits  to  be  pointed  out. 

When  the  Messrs.  Wesley,  Mr.  Whitefield,  and  their 
early  coadjutors  entered  upon  their  itinerant  career,  it  is 
a  matter  of  fact  and  history,  that  no  general  plans  for  the 
illumination  of  the  nation  were  either  in  operation,  or  in 
the  contemplation  of  any  one.  Nothing  had  this  bearing. 
There  were  no  persons  associated  in  such  institutions  ol 
any  kind,  making  this  a  common  object.  The  pious  la 
hours  of  a  few  zealous  clergymen,  (and  few  they  were,) 
and  of  the  ministers  of  other  denominations,  were  con- 
fined to  their  own  parishes  and  congregations.  There 
were  no  means  of  general  application  in  existence,  to 
remove  the  ignorance  and  correct  the  vices  which  were 
almost  universal.  The  measures  taken  by  the  founders 
of  Methodism  to  correct  existing  evils  were  on  a  large 
scale.  They  acted  in  concert ;  they  conceived  noble  de- 
signs. They  visited  the  large  towns ;  they  laboured  in 
tlie  populous  mining,  manufacturing,  and  commercial  dis- 
tricts ;  they  preached  in  places  of  public  resort ;  they 
formed  religious  societies,  and  inspired  them  with  zeal 
for  the  instruction  and  salvation  of  their  neighbours ;  they 
employed  men  of  zeal,  character,  and  competent  acquaint- 
ance with  practical  and  experimental  religion,  to  assist 
them  ifi  this  work  as  it  widened  before  them ;  and  they 
gave  it  their  vigilant  superintendence.  The  benefits  they 
were  the  means  of  producing  were  not  confined  to  indi- 
viduals ;  they  influenced  Avhole  neighbourhoods.  Reli- 
gious knowledge  was  spread,  and  religious  influence  ex- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


317 


erted.  The  manners  of  the  rude  were  civilized ;  barba- 
rous sports  and  pastimes  fell  greatly  into  disuse ;  and  a 
higher  standard  of  morals  was  erected,  of  itself  of  no 
small  importance  to  the  reformation  of  manners. 

It  is  a  matter  of  history,  that,  beside  those  means  which 
were  afforded  by  their  personal  labours,  and  by  the  auxil- 
iaries they  brought  forward  to  their  assistance,  in  order 
to  revive  and  extend  the  spirit  of  religion  in  the  nation, 
for  a  great  number  of  years  no  other  means  of  extensive 
application  were  employed  to  promote  this  end.  The 
effects  Avhich  were  thus  produced  began,  however,  after  a 
considerable  time  had  elapsed,  to  operate  collaterally  as 
well  as  directly.  Many  of  the  clergy  were  aroused,  and 
the  doctrines  of  the  articles  and  the  homilies  began  to  be 
heard  more  distinctly  and  more  frequently  in  their  pul- 
pits. Holy  and  zealous  men  in  different  denominations 
began  to  labour  for  the  public  instruction  and  reforma- 
tion. The  institution  of  Sundaj'-schools,  though  devised 
by  a  churchman,  was,  at  first,  but  slowly  encouraged.  The 
Methodists  and  Dissenters  were  carrying  those  schools  to 
a  great  extent  when  the  members  of  the  church  folloM'ed : 
some  from  a  fear,  laudable  enough,  lest  the  body  of  the 
poor  should  be  alienated  from  the  establishment ;  others, 
as  perceiving  in  the  institution  the  means  of  conveying 
instruction  and  religious  influence  to  those  who  most 
needed  them.  The  circulation  of  the  Scriptures  by  Bible 
societies  followed ;  but  still  that  was  an  effect  of  the  new 
order  of  principles  and  feelings  wliich  had  been  intro- 
duced into  the  nation.  These  principles  of  zeal  for  the 
moral  improvement  of  society  farther  led,  at  a  later  peri- 
od, to  general  measures  for  the  education  of  the  poor  by 
the  two  great  national  education  societies,  which  promise  so 
much  benefit  to  the  country.  All  these  efforts  for  enlighten- 
ing and  moralizing  the  people  may  be  traced  to  several  in- 
termediate causes ;  but  it  is  only  justice  to  the  memory  of 
such  men  as  the  Wesleys  and  Whitefield,  men  so  often 
flippantly  branded  as  enthusiasts,  to  state,  that  they  all 
primarily  sprang  from  that  spirit  which,  under  God,  they 
were  the  means  of  exciting  in  a  slumbering  church,  and  in 
a  dark  and  neglected  land.  This  is  a  point  not  to  be  de- 
nied ;  for  long  before  any  of  those  eflbrts  for  public  in- 
26* 


318 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


struction  and  reformation  which  could  be,  considered 
national  were  called  forth,  those  aspersed  men  were  pur- 
suing their  gigantic  labours  among  the  profligate  popula- 
tion of  London,  and  of  the  principal  towns  of  the  kingdom ; 
among  the  miners  of  Cornwall,  the  colliers  of  Kingswood 
and  Newcastle,  and  the  manufacturers  of  Yorkshire  and 
Lancashire ;  whilst  the  preachers  they  employed  were 
every  year  spreading  themselves  into  dark  semi-barbarous 
villages  in  the  most  secluded  parts  of  the  kingdom  ;  endu- 
ring bitter  privations,  and  encountering,  almost  daily,  the 
insults  of  rude  mobs,  that  they  might  convey  to  them  the 
knowledge  of  religion. 

Now,  in  order  to  judge  of  these  efforts,  and  to  ascertain 
what  "  evil"  has  resulted  to  the  church  of  England  from 
Mr.  Wesley's  measures,  it  is  but  fair  to  consider  what  the 
state  of  the  country  and  of  the  church  must  in  all  human 
probability  have  been,  had  he  and  his  associates  never 
appeared,  or  confined  themselves  to  the  obscurity  of  Ep- 
worth  and  similar  parishes.  It  is  not  denied  that  other 
means  and  agents  might  have  been  raised  up  by  God  to 
effect  the  purposes  of  his  mercy ;  but  it  is  denied  that  any 
such  were  raised  up, — for  this  is  matter  of  fact.  No  agency 
has  appeared  in  the  church,  or  out  of  it,  tending  to  the 
general  instruction  and  evangelizing  of  the  nation,  and 
operating  on  a  large  scale,  which  is  not  much  subsequent 
in  its  origin  to  the  exertions  of  the  Messrs.  Wesley  and 
Whitefield ;  and  which  may  not  be  traced  to  the  spirit 
which  they  excited,  and  often  into  the  very  bosoms  of 
those  who  derived  their  first  light  and  influence,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  from  them.  What  was,  and  not 
what  might  have  been,  can  only  be  made  the  ground  of 
argument. 

But  for  their  labours,  therefore,  and  the  labours  of 
those  persons  in  the  church,  among  the  Dissenters,  and 
their  own  people,  Avhom  they  imbued  with  the  same  spirit, 
that  state  of  things  in  the  church  of  England,  and  in  the 
country  at  large,  which  has  been  already  described,  must 
have  continued,  at  least  for  nwny  years,  for  any  thing 
which  appears  to  the  contrary; — for  no  substitute  for 
their  exertions  was  supplied  by  any  party.  They  took  the 
place  of  none  who  were  exerting  themselves :  they  oppo- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


319 


sed  no  obstacle  to  the  operation  of  any  plan  of  usefulness, 
had  it  been  in  preparation.  If  they  therefore  had  not 
appeared,  and  kindled  that  flame  of  religious  feeling  which 
ultimately  spread  into  many  denominations  of  Christians, 
and  thus  gave  birth  to  that  variety  of  effort  which  now 
diffuses  itself  througli  the  land,  it  is  a  very  erroneous  con- 
clusion to  suppose,  that  a  later  period  would  have  found 
the  nation  and  the  church  at  all  improved.  The  proba- 
bility, almost  amounting  to  certainty,  is,  that  both  would 
have  been  found  still  more  deteriorated,  and  in  a  state 
which  would  have  presented  obstacles  much  more  formi- 
dable to  their  recovery.  For  all  who  have  given  attention 
to  such  subjects  must  know,  that  a  number  of  those  demo- 
ralizing causes  were  then  coming  into  operation,  which, 
with  all  the  counteractions  since  supplied  by  the  church, 
and  the  different  religious  sects,  by  schools,  and  by  Bibles, 
have  produced  very  injurious  effects  upon  the  morals  and 
principles  of  the  nation ; — that  the  tide  of  an  unprece- 
dented commercial  prosperity  began  then  to  flow  into  the 
country,  and  continued,  for  a  long  succession  of  years,  to 
render  tlie  means  of  sensual  indulgence  more  ample,  and 
to  corrupt  more  deeply  all  ranks  of  society  ; — that  in  con- 
sequence of  the  independence  thus  given  to  the  lower 
orders  in  many  of  the  most  populous  districts,  the  moral 
control  and  influence  of  the  higher  became  gradually 
weaker  ; — that  the  agitation  of  political  subjects,  during 
the  American  quarrel  and  the  French  revolution,  with 
the  part  which  even  the  operative  classes  were  able  to 
take  in  such  discussions  by  means  of  an  extended  educa- 
tion, produced,  as  will  always  be  the  case  among  the  half- 
informed,  a  strong  tendency  to  republicanism,  a  restless 
desire  of  political  change  on  every  pinching  of  the  times, 
and  its  constant  concomitant,  an  aversion  to  the  national 
establishment,  partly  as  the  result  of  ill-digested  theories, 
and  partly  because  this  feeling  was  encouraged  by  the 
negligent  habits  of  many  of  the  clergy,  and  the  absence 
'>f  that  influence  which  they  might  have  acquired  in  their 
parishes  by  careful  pastoral  attentions.  To  all  this  is  to 
be  added  the  diffusion  of  infidel  principles,  both  of  foreign 
and  home  growth,  which,  from  the  studies  of  the  learned, 
descended  into  the  shop  of  the  mechanic,  and,  embodied 


320 


LIFE  OP  WESLEY. 


in  cheap  and  popular  works,  found  their  way  into  every 
part  of  the  empire.  To  counteract  agencies  and  princi- 
ples so  active  and  so  pernicious,  it  is  granted  that  no 
means  have  yet  been  applied  of  complete  adequacy.  This 
is  the  reason  why  their  effects  are  so  rife  in  the  present 
day,  and  that  we  are  now  in  the'-midst  of  a  state  of  things 
"which  no  considerate  man  can  contemplate  without  some 
anxiety.  These  circumstances,  so  devastating  to  morals 
and  good  principles,  could  only  have  been  fully  neutralized 
by  tlie  ardent  exertions  of  every  clergyman  in  his  parish, 
of  every  Dissenting  minister  in  his  congregation,  of  every 
Methodist  preacher  in  his  circuit,  of  every  private  Christian 
in  his  own  circle,  or  in  the  place  which  useful  and  pious 
institutions  of  various  kinds  would  have  assigned  him;  and 
even  then  the  special  blessing  of  God  would  have  been 
necessary  to  give  effect  to  the  whole.  But  had  no  correct- 
ives been  applied,  what  had  been  the  present  state  of  the 
nation  and  of  the  church?  The  labours  of  the  founders  of 
Methodism  were,  from  the  beginning,  directly  counteract- 
ive of  the  evils  just  mentioned  ;  and  those  have  little  reason 
to  stigmatize  them  who  deplore  such  evils  most,  and  yet 
have  done  least  for  their  correction  and  restraint.  Where- 
ever  these  men  went,  they  planted  the  principles  of  religion 
in  the  minds  of  the  multitudes  who  heard  them ;  they 
acted  on  the  offensive  against  immorality,  infidelity,  and 
error ;  the  societies  they  raised  were  employed  in  doing 
good  to  all ;  the  persons  they  associated  with  them  in  the 
work  of  national  reformation  were  always  engaged  in 
diffusing  piety ;  and  though  great  multitudes  were  beyond 
their  reach,  tliey  spread  themselves  into  every  part  of  the 
land,  turning  the  attention  of  men  to  religious  concerns, 
calming  their  passions,  guarding  them  against  the  strifes 
of  the  world,  enjoining  the  scriptural  principles  of  "  obe- 
dience to  magistrates,"  and  a  sober,  temperate,  peaceable, 
and  benevolent  conduct.  The  direct  effect  of  their  exer- 
tions was  great ;  and  it  increased  in  energy  and  extent 
as  the  demoralizing  causes  before-mentioned  acquired 
also  greater  activity ;  and  when  their  indirect  influence 
began  to  appear  more  fully  in  the  national  church,  and 
in  other  religious  bodies,  remedies  more  commensurate 
with  the  evils  existing  in  the  country  began  to  be  applied. 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


321 


I  shall  not  affect  to  say  what  would  have  been  the  state 
of  the  church  of  Englaud  under  the  uncontrolled  opera- 
tion of  all  the  causes  of  moral  deterioration,  and  civil 
strife,  to  which  I  have  adverted;  or  wliat  hold  that  church 
would  have  had  upon  the  people  at  this  day,  if  the  spirit 
of  religion  had  not  been  revived  in  the  country,  and  if, 
when  ancient  prejudices  were  destroyed  or  weakened  by 
the  general  spread  of  information  among  men,  no  new 
bond  between  it  and  tlie  nation  at  large  liad  been  created. 
But  if,  as  I  am  happy  to  believe,  the  national  cliurch  has 
much  more  influence  and  mucli  more  respect  now  than 
fonnerly  ;  and  if  its  influence  and  the  respect  due  to  it 
are  increasing  with  the  increase  of  its  evangelical  clergy, 
all  this  is  owing  to  the  existence  of  a  stronger  spirit  of 
piety :  and  in  producing  that,  the  first  great  instruments 
were  the  men  whose  labours  have  been  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  pages.  Not  only  has  the  spirit  which  they  ex- 
cited improved  the  religious  state  of  the  church,  but  it 
has  disposed  the  great  bod}^  of  religious  people,  not  of  the 
church,  to  admire  and  respect  those  numerous  members 
of  the  establishment,  both  clergymen  and  laics,  whose 
eminent  piety,  talents,  and  usefulness,  liave  done  more  to 
abate  the  prejudices  arising  from  different  views  of  church- 
government,  than  a  thousand  treatises  could  hare  effected, 
however  eloquently  written,  or  ably  argued. 

It  may  also  be  asked,  AVho  are  the  persons  whom  the 
Methodists  have  alienated  from  tlie  church  ?  In  this  too, 
the  church  writers  have  laboured  under  great  mistakes. 
They  have  "  alienated"  those,  for  the  most  part,  M'ho  ne- 
ver were,  in  any  substantial  sense,  and  never  would  have 
been  of  the  church.  Very  few  of  her  pious  members 
have  at  any  time  been  separated  from  her  communion  by 
a  connexion  with  us ;  and  many  who  became  serious 
through  the  Methodist  ministry,  continued  attendants  on 
her  services,  and  observers  of  her  sacraments.  This  was 
the  case  during  the  life  of  Mr.  V/esley,  and  in  many  in- 
stances is  so  still ;  and  when  an  actual  separation  of  a 
few  persons  has  occurred,  it  has  been  much  more  than 
compensated  by  a  return  of  others  from  us  to  the  church, 
especially  of  opulent  persons,  or  their  children,  in  conse- 
quence of  that  superior  influence  which  an  established 


322 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


church  must  alwa3's  exert  upon  people  of  that  class.  For 
the  rest,  they  have  been  brought  chiefly  from  the  ranks  of 
the  ignorant  and  the  careless;  persons  who  had  little 
knowledge,  and  no  experience  of  the  power  of  religion  ; 
negligent  of  religious  worship  of  every  kind,  and  many  of 
whom,  but  for  the  agency  of  Methodism,  would  have 
swelled  the  ranks  of  those  who  are  equally  disaffected  to 
church  and  state.  If  such  persons  are  not  now  church- 
men, they  are  influenced  by  no  feelings  hostile  to  the  in- 
stitutions of  their  country. 

Such  considerations  may  tend  to  convey  more  sober 
views  on  a  subject  often  taken  up  in  heat : — that  they 
will  quite  disarm  the  feeling  against  which  they  are  level- 
led is  more  than  can  be  hoped  for,  considering  the  effects 
of  party  spirit,  and  the  many  forms  of  virtue  which  it 
simulates.  However,  it  is  nothing  hew  for  the  Method- 
ists to  endure  reproach,  and  to  be  subject  to  misrepresent- 
ations. Perhaps  something  of  an  exclusive  spirit  may 
have  gro\\'n  up  amongst  us  in  consequence ;  but,  if  so,  it 
has  this  palliation,  that  we  are  quite  as  expansive  as  the 
circumstances  in  which  we  have  ever  been  placed  could 
lead  any  reasonable  man  to  anticipate.  It  might  almost 
be  said  of  us,  "  Lo,  the  people  shall  dwell  alone."  The 
high  churchman  has  persecuted  us  because  we  are  sepa- 
ratists ;  the  high  Dissenter  has  often  looked  upon  us  with 
hostility,  because  we  would  not  see  that  an  establishment 
necessarily,  and  in  se,  involved  a  sin  against  the  suprema- 
cy of  Christ ;  the  rigid  Calvinist  has  disliked  us  because 
we  hold  the  redemption  of  all  men  ;  the  Pelagianized  Ar- 
minian,  because  we  contend  for  salvation  by  grace  ;  the 
Antinoraian,  because  we  insist  upon  the  perpetual  obliga- 
tion of  the  moral  law;  the  moralist,  because  we  exalt 
faith ;  the  disaffected,  because  we  hold  that  loyalty  and 
religion  are  inseparable  ;  the  political  tory,  because  he 
cannot  think  that  separatists  from  the  church  can  be  loyal 
to  the  throne;  the  pliilosopher,  because  he  deems  us  fana- 
tics ;  Avhilst  semi-infidel  liberals  generally  exclude  us  from 
all  share  in  their  libcn-ality,  except  it  be  in  their  liberality 
of  abuse.  In  the  mean  time,  we  have  occasionally  been 
favoured  with  a  smile,  though  somewhat  of  a  condescend- 
ing one,  from  the  lofty  churchman  ;  and  often  with  a  fra- 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


323 


temal  embrace  from  pious  and  liberal  Dissenters :  and  if 
we  act  upon  tlie  principles  left  us  by  our  great  founder, 
we  shall  make  a  meek  and  lowly  temper  an  essential  part 
of  our  religion  :  and,  after  his  example,  move  onward  in 
the  path  of  doing  good,  through  "  honour  and  dishonour, 
through  evil  report  and  good  report,"  remembering  that 
one  fundamental  principle  of  Weslcjan  Methodism  is 

ANTI-SECTARIANISM  AXD  A  CATHOLIC  SPIRIT. 

To  return,  however,  to  Mr.  Wesley :  Among  the  cen- 
sures which  have  been  frequently  directed  against  him, 
are  his  alleged  love  of  power,  and  his  credulity.  The 
first  is  a  vice  ;  the  second  but  a  weakness ;  and  they  stand 
therefore  upon  different  grounds. 

As  to  the  love  of  power,  it  may  be  granted  that,  like 
many  minds  Avho  seem  born  to  direct,  he  desired  to  ac- 
quire influence ;  and,  when  he  attained  it,  he  employed 
his  one  talent  so  as  to  make  it  gain  more  talents.  If  he 
had  loved  power  for  its  own  sake,  or  to  minister  to  selfish 
purposes,  or  to  injure  others,  this  would  have  been  a  great 
blemish ;  but  he  sacrificed  no  principle  of  his  ommi,  and 
no  interest  or  right  of  others,  for  its  gratification.  He 
gained  power,  as  all  great  and  good  men  gain  it,  by  the 
very  greatness  and  goodness  with  which  they  are  endow- 
ed, and  of  which  others  are  always  more  sensible  than 
themselves.  It  devohed  upon  him  without  any  contri- 
vance; and  when  he  knew  lie  possessed  it,  no  instance  is 
on  record  of  his  having  abused  it.  This  is  surely  virtue, 
not  vice,  and  virtue  of  the  highest  order.  The  only  proof 
attempted  to  be  given  that  he  loved  power,  is,  that  he  ne- 
ver devolved  his  authority  over  the  societies  upon  others  ; 
but  this  is  capable  of  an  easy  explanation.  He  could  not 
have  shared  his  power  among  vianij,  without  drawing  up 
a  formal  constitution  of  church-government  for  his  socie- 
ties, which  would  have  amounted  to  a  formal  separation 
from  the  church  ;  and  it  would  have  been  an  insane  ac- 
tion had  he  devolved  it  upon  one,  and  placed  himself,  and 
the  work  he  had  effected,  under  the  management  of  any 
individual  to  whom  his  societies  could  not  stand  in  the 
same  filial  relation  as  to  himself  He,  however,  exercised 
his  influence  by  aid  of  the  counsel  of  others;  and  allowed 
the  free  discussion  of  all  prudential  matters  in  the  confe- 


324 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


rence.  Had  he  been  armed  with  legal  power  to  inflict 
pains  and  penalties,  he  ought  to  have  distrusted  himself, 
as  every  wise  and  good  man  Avould  do,  and  to  have  vo- 
luntarily put  himself  beyond  the  reach  of  temptation  to 
abuse  what  mere  man,  without  check,  can  seldom  use 
aright.  This  I  grant ;  but  the  control  to  which  he  was 
subject  was,  that  the  union  of  his  societies  with  him  was 
perfectly  voluntary,  so  that  over  them  he  could  have  no 
influence  at  all  but  what  was  founded  upon  character,  and 
public  spirit,  and  fatherly  affection.  The  power  which  he 
exercised  has  descended  to  the  conference  of  preachers; 
and,  as  in  this  case,  his  has  been  often  very  absurdly 
complained  of,  as  though  it  were  parallel  to  the  power  of 
civil  government,  or  to  that  of  an  established  church,  sup- 
ported by  statutes  and  the  civil  arm.  But  this  power, 
like  his,  is  moral  influence  only,  founded  upon  the  pasto- 
ral character,  and  can  exist  only  upon  the  basis  of  the 
confidence  inspired  by  the  fact  of  its  generally  just  and 
salutary  exercise  among  a  people  who  neither  are  nor  can 
be  under  any  compulsion. 

On  the  charge  of  credulity,  it  may  be  observed,  that 
Mr.  Wesley  lived  in  an  age  in  which  he  thought  men  in 
danger  of  believing  too  little,  rather  than  too  much, 
and  his  belief  in  apparitions  is  at  least  no  proof  of 
a  credulousiKss  peculiar  to  himself.  With  respect  to 
the  "  strange  accounts"  which  he  inserted  in  his  maga- 
zine, and  strange  indeed  some  of  them  were,  it  has  been 
falsely  assumed  that  he  himself  believed  them  entire. 
This  is  not  true.  He  frequently  remarks,  that  he  gives 
no  opinion,  or  that  "he  knows  not  what  to  make  of  the 
accoimt,"  or  that  "  he  leaves  every  one  to  form  his  own 
judgment  concerning  it."  He  met  with  those  relations  in 
reading,  or  received  them  from  persons  deemed  by  him 
credible,  and  he  put  them  on  record  as  facts  reported  to 
have  happened.  Now,  as  to  an  unbeliever,  one  sees 
not  what  soimd  objection  he  can  make  to  that  being  re- 
corded which  has  commanded  the  faith  of  others ;  for  as 
a  part  of  the  histor)'-  of  human  opinions,  such  accounts 
are  curious,  and  have  their  use.  It  neither  followed,  that 
the  editor  of  the  work  believed  every  account,  nor  that 
his  readers  should  consider  it  true  because  it  was  printed. 


LIFE  OF  WKSLEY. 


325 


It  was  for  them  to  judge  of  the  evidence  on  which  the  re- 
lation stood.  Many  of  these  accounts,  however,  Mr. 
Wesley  did  credit,  because  he  tliought  that  they  stood  on 
credible  testimony  ;  and  he  published  them  for  that  very 
purpose,  for  which  he  believed  they  were  permitted  to 
occur, — to  confirm  the  faith  of  men  in  an  invisible  state, 
and  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  Tliese  were  his  mo- 
tives fcr  inserting  such  articles  in  his  magazine;  and  to 
the  censure  which  has  been  passed  upon  him  on  this  ac- 
count, may  be  opposed  the  words  of  the  learned  Dr. 
Henry  More,  in  his  letter  to  Glanville,  the  author  of 
"  Sadducismus  Triumpliatus  ;"  "  Wlierefore  let  the  small 
philosophic  Sir  Tophngs  of  this  present  age  deride  as  much 
as  they  will,  those  that  lay  out  their  pains  in  committing 
to  writing  certain  well-attested  stories  of  apparitions,  do 
real  service  to  true  religion  and  sound  philosophy ;  and 
they  most  effectually  contribute  to  the  confounding  of  in- 
fidehty  and  Atheism,  even  in  the  judgment  of  the  Atheists 
themselves,  who  are  as  much  afraid  of  the  truth  of  these 
stories  as  an  ape  is  of  a  whip,  and  therefore  force  them- 
selves with  might  and  main  to  disbelieve  them,  by  reason 
of  the  dreadful  consequence  of  them,  as  to  themselves." 
It  is  sensibly  observed  by  Jortin,  in  his  remarks  on  the 
diabohcal  possessions  in  the  age  of  our  Lord,  that  "  one 
reason  for  which  Divine  Providence  should  suffer  evil 
spirits  to  exert  their  malignant  powers  at  that  time,  might 
be  to  save  a  check  to  Sadducism  among  the  Jews,  and 
Atheism  among  the  Gentiles,  and  to  remove  in  some  mea- 
sure these  two  great  impediments  to  the  reception  of  the 
gospel."  For  moral  uses,  supernatural  visitations  may 
have  been  allowed  in  subsequent  ages ;  and  he  who  be- 
lieves in  tliem,  only  spreads  their  moral  the  farther  by 
giving  them  publicity.  Before  such  a  person  can  be  fairly 
censured,  the  ground  of  his  faith  ought  to  be  disproved, 
for  he  only  acts  consistently  with  that  faith.  This  task 
would,  however,  prove  somewhat  difficult. 

Mr.  Wesley  was  a  voluminous  writer ;  and  as  he  was 
one  of  the  great  instruments  in  reviving  the  spirit  of  reli- 
gion in  these  lands,  so  he  led  the  way  in  those  praise- 
worthy attempts  which  have  been  made  to  diffuse  useful 
information  of  every  kind,  and  to  smooth  the  path  of 
28 


326 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


knowledge  to  the  middle  and  lower  ranks  of  society. 
Besides  books  on  religious  subjects,  he  published  many 
small  and  cheap  treatises  on  various  branches  of  science  ; 
plain  and  excellent  grammars  of  the  dead  languages  ;  ex- 
purgated editions  of  the  classic  authors ;  histories,  civil 
and  ecclesiastical ;  and  numerous  abridgments  of  im- 
portant works.* 

It  is  his  especial  praise,  that  he  took  an  early  part  in 
denouncing  the  iniquities  of  the  African  slave  trade,  and 
in  arousing  the  conscience  of  the  nation  on  the  subject. 
In  Bristol,  at  that  time  a  dark  den  of  slave-traders,  he 
courageously  preached  openly  against  it,  defying  the  rage 
of  the  slave-merchants  and  tlie  mob ;  and  his  spirited  and 
ably  reasoned  tract  on  slavery  continues  to  be  admired 
and  quoted  to  the  present  time.  It  maybe  added,  that  one 
of  the  last  letters  he  ever  wrote  was  to  Mr.  Wilberforce, 
exhorting  him  to  perseverance  in  a  work,  of  which  he 
was  one  of  the  leading  instruments, — the  effecting  the 
abolition  of  the  traffic  in  the  nerves  and  blood  of  man. 

At  the  time  of  Mr.  Wesley's  death,  the  number  of  mem. 
bers  in  connexion  with  him  in  Europe,  America,  and  the  West 
India  Islands,  was  80,000.  At  the  last  conference,  1830,  the 
numbers  returned  were,  In  Great  Britain,  249,278 ;  in  Ire- 
land, 22,897;  in  foreign  missions  41,186  ;  total  313,360, 

*  Mr.  Wesley's  principal  waitings  are,  his  translations  of  the  New 
Testament,  with  Explanatory  Notes,  quarto;  his  Journals,  6  vols, 
duodecimo ;  his  Sermons,  9  volumes  duodecimo ;  his  Appeal  to  Men  of 
Reason  and  Religion;  his  Defence  of  the  Doctrine  of  Original  Sin, 
in  Answer  to  Dr.  Taylor;  liis  answers  to  Mr.  Church,  and  Bishops 
Lavington  and  Warburton;  and  his  Predestination  calmly  Con- 
sidered, besides  many  smaller  Tracts  on  various  important  subjects. 
His  Works  were  published  by  himself  in  thirty-two  volumes,  duode- 
cimo, in  the  year  1771.  An  edition  of  them  in  fourteen  large  octavo 
volumes  has  just  been  completed;  with  his  work  on  the  New  Testa- 
)iiei)t  in  two  volumes  of  the  same  size.  In  addition  to  his  original 
compositions,  Mr.  Wesley  jiublished  upwards  of  a  hundred  and 
(.wenty  different  works,  mostly  abridged  from  other  authors;  among 
which  are  Grammars  in  five  different  languages;  the  Christian  Li- 
brary, in  fifty  duodecimo  volumes;  thirteen  volumes  of  the  Arminian 
Magazine;  a  History  of  England,  and  a  general  Ecclesiastical 
History,  in  four  volumes  each ;  a  Compendium  of  Natural  Philoso- 
phy, in  five  volumes;  and  an  Exposition  ofthe  Old  Testament,  in 
three  quarto  vol  limes, 


LIFE  OF  WESLEY. 


327 


exclusive  of  near  half  a  million  of  persons  in  the  societies 
in  the  states  of  America.  As  to  the  field  of  labour  at 
home,  the  number  of  circuits  in  the  United  Kingdom,  was, 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  115.  At  present  they  are  399. 
The  number  of  mission  stations  was  8  in  the  West  Indies, 
and  8  in  British  America  :  at  present  there  are  150.  The 
number  of  preachers  left  by  him  was  312.  It  is  now  993, 
in  the  United  Kingdom;  and  193  in  the  foreign  missions. 
In  the  United  States  of  America  the  number  of  preachers 
is  about  2,000. 

Such  have  been  the  results  of  the  labours  of  this  great 
and  good  man.  Whether  they  are  still  to  diffuse  a  hal- 
lowing influence  through  the  country,  and  convey  the 
blessings  of  Christianity  to  heathen  lands  with  the  same 
rapidity  and  with  the  same  vigour,  will,  under  the  Divine 
blessing,  depend  upon  those  who  have  received  from  him 
the  trust  of  a  system  of  religious  agency,  to  be  employed 
with  the  same  singleness  of  heart,  the  same  benevolent 
zeal  for  the  spiritual  benefit  of  mankind,  and  the  same  de- 
pendance  upon  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  know  not  that  it  bears 
upon  it  any  marks  of  decay,  although  it  may  require  to 
be  accommodated  in  a  few  particulars  to  the  new  circum- 
stances with  which  it  is  surrounded.  The  doctrinal  views 
which  Mr.  Wesley  held  were  probably  never  better  under- 
stood or  more  accurately  stated  in  the  discourses  of  the 
preachers ;  and  the  moral  discipline  of  the  body,  in  all 
its  essential  parts,  was  never  more  cordially  approved  by 
the  people  generally,  or  enforced  with  greater  faithfulness 
by  their  pastors.  Very  numerous  are  the  converts  Avho 
are  every  year  won  from  the  world,  brought  under  reli- 
gious influence,  and  placed  in  the  enjoyment  of  means  and 
ordinances  favourable  to  their  growth  in  religious  know- 
ledge, and  holy  habits ;  and  many  are  constantly  passing 
into  eternity,  of  whose  "  good  hope  through  grace,"  the 
testimony  is  in  the  highest  degree  satisfactory.  If  Me- 
thodism continue  in  vigour  and  purity  to  future  ages, 
it  will  still  be  associated  with  the  name  of  its  founder, 
and  encircle  his  memory  with  increasing  lustre  ;  and  if  it 
should  fall  into  the  formality  and  decays  which  have 
proved  the  lot  of  many  other  rehgious  bodies,  he  will 
not  lose  his  rcAvard.    Still  a  glorious  harvest  of  saved 


328 


LIFE  or  WESLEY, 


souls  is  laid  up  in  the  heavenly  garner,  which  will  be 
his  "  rejoicing  in  the  day  of  the  Lord ;"  whilst  the  in- 
direct influence  of  his  labours  upon  the  other  religious 
bodies  and  institutions  of  the  country  will  justly  entitle 
him  to  be  considered  as  one  of  the  most  honoured  instru- 
ments of  reviving  and  extending  the  influence  of  religion, 
that,  since  the  time  of  the  apostles,  have  been  raised  up 
by  the  providence  of  God. 


THE  END. 


Date  Due 

4 


1  1012  01045  7176 


